#i know it’s probably not gonna happen because joyce is the mother that can do no wrong but please!!!!

[thestobingirlie]

🙏 jonathan and joyce cathartic fight in s5 🙏

please duffer brothers, i need jonathan to unload all the shit he’s got going on and to finally start to process all his parentification, okay? he has to realise that he can have his own life outside of his brother, and that can only happen with a confrontation and breakdown.

[ronancexists]

Things I would like to see in Stranger Things 5:

- Since Robin has done quite a few doodles on her red converse, I like to think she's quite good at drawing, so that can be a way for her to start up a conversation with Will

- And then Will confides in Robin about being gay and being in love with Mike because he had a feeling that she was like him and Robin confirming she was indeed like him and becoming his gay mentor (like you don't understand I NEED ROBIN AND WILL TO HAVE A CONVO ABOUT BEING GAY)

- Will (finally!) tells the party that he's gay (and Byler becomes a thing) but not before Robin comes out to the party in order to make Will feel more comfortable and to show him that they will accept him because that's totally something she would do as his gay mentor

- More Steve and Robin being "Platonic with a Capital P" cause we didn't get enough in st4

- Hopper and Joyce trying to corral the kids and control the situation as best as they can

- Joyce being a mother figure to Robin like she is with the rest of the kids and Robin becoming better acquainted with El, Jonathan, and ESPECIALLY Will because she didn't really get a chance to get to know the California crew before they packed up and moved so ya

- El traveling into Vecna's/Henry's/One's mind in order to be able to wake Max up and free her from his control because he said his victims stay with him in his mind so like 👀

- Max wakes up after El successfully rescues her from Vecna/Henry/One but she is severely incapacitated, like she's probably blind in one or both eyes and is going to need assistance walking for the rest of her life and is going to be stuck in the hospital for a few more weeks (possibly months)

- How and when the Upside Down was created

- What Will's connection to Vecna/Henry/One and the Upside Down really entails and how that could affect both him and The Party during this final stretch

- Vecna/Henry/One, the Demogorgons, the Demodogs, the Demobats, the Mindflayer, and the Upside Down along with whatever other monsters are down there get destroyed once and for all because I don't think shutting the gates is gonna do it this time

- Kali comes back to help El defeat Vecna/Henry/One

- Murray tries to figure Steve and Robin out but he can't because he's never seen anything like the two of them and it frustrates him to no end

- Then when he tries to psychoanalyze Robin she does it right back to him because she's a freaking genius and everyone is in awe of her because they've never seen Murray speechless before

- KAREN WHEELER DESERVES TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT'S BEEN GOING ON IN HAWKINS!!!!!!!!

- And I hate to say it but if Steve dies Robin dies too because despite the fact that she is my favorite character (close seconds are Nancy and Will) Steve is her platonic soulmate and they are codependent on one another and one just simply cannot survive without the other

- Like it would absolutely break my heart to have to see Robin try to live without her dingus of a best friend and to have to see Steve try to live without his wing woman of a bestie so if one dies both of them die

- Lucas defending Max's unconscious body with Erica from whatever creatures from the Upside Down want to try and take and/or kill her

- Mike and El break up because El realizes she needs to be her own person and because Mike is in love with Will

- Dustin is even more protective and stubborn about Steve heading into danger because of what happened to Eddie and he absolutely refuses to leave his side through the entire season

- RONANCE RONANCE RONANCE RONANCE (i know it's probably not gonna be canon but a girl can dream)

- Robin finally getting an onscreen kiss with her girlfriend or a girl she really likes (cough cough Nancy cough cough) (sorry Vickie but I feel like ur just too similar to Robin)

- And if Steve doesn't die (hopefully🤞) then please please please DO NOT have Steve and Nancy get back together after she breaks up with Jonathan when she finds out he lied to her about Emerson along with everything else that's been piling up between them

- Instead Nancy decides she's better off not being in a relationship (or better yet she gets together with Robin) and focuses on what she's absolutely sure she wants which is getting her journalism degree at Emerson (and Robin decides to go there too if they become a thing 😊)

- Because Nancy Wheeler is a smart, strong, fierce, badass, independent woman and she does not need to be kept in a cage by becoming a housewife who gives birth to SIX KIDS

- NANCY WHEELER DOES NOT WANT SIX KIDS

- I REPEAT, NANCY WHEELER DOES NOT WANT SIX KIDS

- Steve and Robin move in together and attend a community college together (Steve's either getting a teaching degree or a child psychology degree while Robin is doing something with linguistics) or they follow Nancy to Boston because Robin and Nancy are absolutely smitten with one another :)

- Meeting Steve and Robin's respective parents

Ok I think that's all for now 😅

[kuumara]

Draw me a portrait of you

Will loved drawing, he could draw all the time. But lately he couldn't- last year of high school has a lot going on. He was busy.

But he's caught a cold now somehow. And he isn't complaining, he loves being sick. He doesn't have to do anything, except drink tea and stay in bed. He can draw again, now.

He's zoned out drawing, when he hears a knock on his already open bedroom door. It's Mike, smiling widely at him. Will smiles back.

"I brought you homework," he says and comes to sit on Will's bed. Will groans.

"I did it for you." Mike chuckles.

"What- really?" Will says, takes the papers and they really are all solved. Mike nods, smiles again.

"You didn't have to-"

"Oh! Save it. I was bored, that's all,"

"Who does homework when they're bored?"

"Me! Now what's this?"

Mike reaches out to Will's notebook, laying open but upside-down beside him.

"No, wait-!" Will grabs the book, but since he's sick he's not really strong, and Mike successfully takes it.

There we go, Will thinks. He's gonna think I'm a creep.

But Mike's expression goes from teasing, to shocked, to- angry, Will expects, but then Mike just looks up at Will with those big, adoring eyes and a soft smile.

Will doesn't know what to make of this- so he does nothing, nervously staring at Mike. He's coming closer, now. Leaning onto his arm, glancing at Will's lips- glancing at Will's lips?!

Will can feel his breath now, faintly. They're very close, and perhaps Will is subconsciously leaning towards Mike as well.

Mike's lips part, eyelids becoming heavy, the hand holding the notebook inching towards Will,

"I have to go pee." Will whispers.

Okay, laugh all you want, but he panicked- and blurted a dumb thing. Was he reading this wrong??? Even if Mike wanted to kiss him, what if he's a bad kisser! His mouth probably tastes like cough medicine! He doesn't want to get Mike sick!!

Mike blinks; once, twice, thrice. Coming out of his haze, eyes still glued to Will's lips.

"Huh?"

"I have to go pee." Will repeats, still whispering.

"Oh! Oh," Mike exclaims, un-caging Will with his arms. Finally looking away from his lips.

Will jumps out of bed and almost runs to the bathroom. Almost, he barely keeps himself under control.

In the bathroom he walked some circles, almost slipping on a towel several times. Then, he washed his face thoroughly, intentionally not looking himself in the mirror.

If he looked, he would see the mess Mike turned him into. And he didn't even kiss him. What would happen if Mike did kiss him?? Will cringes at the thought.

There's knocking again, on the bathroom door this time.

"Will, you alright? Are you feeling sick?" It's Mike. Of course it's Mike- he would care about him even if Will had just murdered his whole family. He would say 'I'll pack the bags, we're leaving the country. I heard Malta is nice'

"Yeah," Will replied.

"Can I- Can I come in?" He asked with a soft voice. Fuck Mike, he's gonna melt him. Cause of death, Mike Wheeler.

Like the idiot Will is, he opens the door to a concerned-looking Mike, but as soon as he sees Will he smiles wobbily.

"You- Uh-"

Mike couldn't say what he wanted to say, because Will grabbed his hand and dragged him back to his room, to the bed. He closed the door, not wanting to alarm his dear mother.

"It- the drawing- I'm sorry about it- I just, like, zone out when I draw- y'know- and, like, eighty percent of the time I don't even pay attention to it, I just do whatever- It's okay if you think it's, uh, weird, y'know,"

Will groaned and hid his face into his face. He's just digging himself into a deeper hole.

"Yeah- I like it," Mike quietly said, and Will looked up at him. He was still holding his sketchbook, Mike's own handsome face staring at him.

Will was daydreaming about him- again- and drew Mike. The soft expression is burned in Will's brain forever, especially since he's been blessed with it more and more since Joyce said it's possible they move to Lenora three years ago. Apparently that scared Mike, but thankfully the Byers' didn't move.

Will looked back at Mike, the same pretty expression looking back at him. He was faintly blushing.

"Oh. Alright, then," Will took a deep breath, collecting himself and sitting next to Mike. Keeping some distance, despite his whole being screaming for him. "You can keep it then. If you like it."

Mike giggled. Giggled. "No, you keep it. So you can... look at it every day," and he blushed again.

Will was blushing as well. A lot more than Mike. He nodded.

"But- if you ever make a self-portrait, and you don't wanna keep it, I'd gladly take it," he finished. "So we can match."

Will sucked in a breath, and Mike launched himself at him, both of them falling off Will's bed and to the floor.

Will groaned as Mike fell on top of him, but Mike just smiled into his chest, tightly hugging him. Will didn't complain anymore.

The boy on top of him slowly lifted his head to look Will straight in the eye, smiling nervously. He glanced at Will's lips, once again. Not taking his eyes off them, freezing Will in place.

Will gulped after a few seconds of this, eyes darting across Mike's face, trying to see if he wants what Will wants.

"Can I-"

"Kiss me." Mike whispered.

And Will sure did, all the concerns of getting Mike sick gone, his head instead being filled by the beautiful feeling of every Mike's kiss.

[brionysea]

How would each member of The Party, especially Joyce, Jonathan and Hopper react to the fact Mike was possessed for close to a year AND NO ONE NOTICED? I'm not so sure about the timeliness for mikes possession so please correct me if I am wrong.

no, you've got it! i think it started six months before season 3 (the night of the snow ball, although it took root that night in the tunnels, and it took a month for mike to be vulnerable enough for it to kick in), and there was another six months or so before season 4, so it's around a year. 15-16 months, if we're being specific

i kind of went into jonathan here, but he has noticed. i don't think he'd be mad or anything that no one else did. he called himself weird for being able to see the things that people try to hide as well as he does back in season 1. he might regret not saying something sooner if something really bad happens because of it, though. kind of reminiscent of how he always beats himself up for not being there for will, which is just... a cute comparison. that jonathan's already thinking of mike as another brother to look out for (although when mike is fully himself again i could see him making sure that goes both ways, since they're both super protective people). jonathan's probably gonna be the one who brings the problem to everyone's attention, or gets the ball rolling, so that they can start working towards a solution

hopper kind of noticed too, but he didn't know what he was noticing, just that something was wrong with mike and el's relationship and that it was because of the way mike was acting. he already got to the point of regretting reacting with threats by the end of season 3, and they're on good terms now with the reunion hug, but he'll probably regret his initial reaction even harder when he finds out that mike was trying to tell someone he was in trouble the whole time (through the music he was blasting from el's room) and hopper was too busy being angry and reactive to hear him. he did kind of help regardless though, because giving mike incentive to break the cycle of seeing el and only el is what lead to mike getting control back by the end of episode 3. mostly, hopper's too level headed to really get hung up on the past when there's something he could do now, and i think he's going to pick up the same role from will's possession of figuring out mike's covert ways of communicating with them

joyce... i mean, the realisation that mike's family didn't notice a thing would probably piss her off. especially because she's been in their position and got will to open up within the day just by talking to him. i don't know how likely it is, but there's something about joyce just giving karen wheeler hell about how she treats her son in my head, and now i want that to happen purely because of how satisfying it would be to watch. joyce was very directly responsible for ending will's possession, but i'm not sure how much narrative sense that would make for mike. i'd love to see it because i think mike and joyce as a mother son duo is adorable, but the honour will probably go to someone closer to mike, like another party member, or someone who's trying to make up for not being closer to mike, like nancy or karen. either way, joyce was very important to dealing with possession last time, and she's so smart and determined and protective and ruthless when it comes to freeing people from it, and i don't see why that would change now

[starkstruck27]

Tag game: Stranger Things Edition!!

I was tagged by my bestie @oopsiedaisiesbaby. Love you!!💚💚

1. Ride or die ship (your otp): Harringrove

2. Most annoying ship: Mileven

3. Second favorite ship: probably mungrove (bonus points if I get the best of both worlds and it ends up as harringroveson)

4. Favorite platonic relationship: Either stobin or elmax. They're both amazing <3

5. Underrated ship: gonna go with elmax again for this one. Or Keg Boys. I feel like they don't get as much love as they deserve.

6. Overrated ship: normally I would say steddie, but I also love them, too, so I'm gonna say ronance. I can see it, but at the same time... meh?

7. One thing I would change in canon: a lot of the random, unneeded deaths. Bob, Billy, Alexei, Benny, Barb, Chrissy? I feel like none of those needed to happen for the plot to move along, and even if they did, like they didn't have to make them like an "Oh well, they're dead :/" thing. Like, they didn't deserve that. And even if they didn't do that, the way the other characters reacted to the deaths was kinda shallow, too. Like Nancy losing Barb would broken my heart a lot more if they didn't use her mourning as a plot device to make her lose Steve and hook up with Jonathan.

8. Something canon did right: the character dynamics. The way they had the kids fighting over petty shit while bad things were happening, how Dustin didn't have a dad so he latched onto Steve as an older brother type positive influence, the way Hopper had to get used to being a dad again and ask Joyce for help? All of that was just beautifully done.

9. A thing I'm proud of creating for the Fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: All of my works on Ao3, but probably my favorite (at the moment) is my fic So Give Him Inches and Feed Him Well or my six fic series Cool To Hate.

10. A character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): Max, Lucas, Dustin and Will. They're all so sweet and funny and I love them.

11. The character I relate to the most and why: normally I would say Billy, but lately it's been more Max. She's stuck in a house with a jerk of an older brother who goes off like a volcano over the littlest things, though most of the time he's dormant unless he wants to annoy her, and she has to witness him and the only father figure she has fighting all the time. Getting into screaming matches, sometimes getting physical, and while in my situation it's more the son causing problems for the father, it's still bad. The only reprieve I get is when I'm out with my friends, and even though I still care about both of them, I'm starting to lose that love for one of them (in her case Neil, in my case my brother) because of how they treat everyone else and acts like everything is normal afterwards.

12. The character I hate the most and why: Karen Fucking Wheeler. How she can go from being a concerned, doting mother in season one to pretty much a sexual predator in the span of a few seasons, I'll never know. I could understand if she cheated on Ted and went after someone her own age, but the fact that she went after a boy no older than her daughter just makes me sick. And yes, Billy flirted with her, too, but come on. He's a misguided 17-18 year old abused kid looking for any kind of affection wherever he can get it. And Karen is the adult. She should fucking know better.

13. Something I've learned from the fandom: How to politely disagree with people and kill them with kindness. That's why I have an anti's ask pinned to the top of my blog, because I want people to know that I don't care who or what they like, so I'll respect them, but if they come onto my blog actively trying to start shit, I will not fucking stand for it :)

14. Three tags I seek out on Ao3: hurt/comfort, Fluff and Angst, and enemies to lovers.

15. A song I strongly associate with my otp/favorite characters: I made a whole playlist dedicated to Billy, so.... but if I had to pick -

For harringrove: In The Woods Somewhere by Hozier or Don't You Dare (Make Me Fall In Love With You) by Kaden MacKay

For Billy: Far Too Young To Die by Panic! At The Disco, Beautiful Girls by Van Halen, Bella by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Cherry Pie by Warrant. Also pretty much Guns N Roses' entire discography.

So, everyone I usually tag for these has already done it (I think), but on the off chance you didn't, I'll tag @thissortofsorcery and @half-oz-eddie , as well as anyone else who wants to participate!

[willel]

I think you’re the one who’s oversimplifying or twisting what people have said about Joyce and Jonathan. You take everything as meaning that people don’t want them to interact, nobody actually says that. It’s an interesting relationship, there are just different opinions on how it should be developed, and how every pov (Jonathan’s, Joyce’s but also the social context) should be taken into account.

See this > https://www.tumblr.com/willel/714855037607837696/the-problem-i-see-is-that-most-ppl-who-are?source=share

I'd also like to point out every time people talk about potential Joyce and Jonathan interactions, all I see is,

"It's not Joyce's fault Jonathan has taken on this responsibility."

"Joyce is a single mother and Jonathan is an adult, he should be able to handle this by himself."

"Joyce has her own problems right now, she shouldn't have to deal with Jonathan's problems too."

Etc etc.

My issue with those kinds of takes is, regardless of how Joyce is feeling or the situation she's in, she IS Jonathan's mother. He's still in high school. She loves him. She's his mom, she's going to do what she can to help him.

Even when she's at her worst, she's clearly done everything possible to keep supporting her children no matter what.

Regardless of how it's done, I think it's nonsensical to suggest Joyce shouldn't have involvement in Jonathan's arc. Or insulating if she does, then that means Jonathan is blaming her or that she's a bad mother or something.

Maybe I'm missing it but I haven't seen anyone who talks about this potential interaction as Jonathan calling her out or condemning her or blaming her for his life. that's exactly opposite of what Jonathan probably feels.

"People don't say that"

But look at this??

WHO IS CALLING JOYCE A BAD MOM? YOU -different anon- ARE.

It's like people equate this potential situation to Joyce being bad when that is not the point at all and never has been. I just have to ask if you guys have lived in a single parent household, and if you did, did you have a good or bad experience? These are conversations older kids have with their parents.

Depending on the parent, it can be such a positive and relieving experience to go over your life and have your parent validate your experience. I'm not a single parent so I don't know how THEY feel, but when I had this talk with my single mother, she was a little snarky but she was also smiling and even though my mom is not really a touchy feelsy type, she still patted me on the back and thanked me for the things I did. It felt good. It made me appreciate my mom a little more. She seemed to appreciate me a little more (as much as my mom can that is, lol). I totally get that sometimes single parent households are WAY worse. Maybe you experienced something worse than me. Maybe your parents lashed out at you instead of appreciating you and there were no hugs had. I'm sorry about that, but that's not how every single parent household concludes.

Just because some people are speculating what this could look like from Jonathan's perspective does not mean Joyce is a bad mother. It doesn't mean Jonathan hates her (he freakin loves her dude, that's part of the reason why he's in the situation in the first place). So why would anyone say, "Well, since you want a moment where Jonathan opens up to her, we Joyce "fans" are gonna turn against him."

That is some bonkers shit right there.

A moment where Joyce and Jonathan can come together and talk about things can only happen because Joyce is a good mother who would notice her son's distress and be able to listen to him when he has something to say.

Regardless of how they write season 5, this is the person Joyce is. She loves her boys. She notices when her boys are going through something. She will protect and comfort her boys no matter what. That's Joyce's character. If you're her family, she'd go to the Upside Down/Russia and back just to save you even if it's from yourself.

And in return, absolutely everyone in her family would do the same for her.

We want a redo/expansion of this moment posted below. Is this moment bad to you? Is this the worse possible outcome in your eyes? Does it destroy Joyce's character? Is the interaction something to be scared of? Does this moment make Joyce a bad mom? Does this make Jonathan a bad son? Is this moment only from Jonathan's perspective????

What is so terrible about wanting something like this again? Please tell me because I do not get it. This moment makes Joyce an awesome and caring mom and character among all the other stuff that makes her character whole. I and others just want to see more of it among the other things Joyce will be involved in.

[primordial-goblin]

So I don't normally post on here but I had this little thought nugget and just had to get it out and see if anyone else maybe had this idea too. But you cannot tell me that if Stranger Things was happening in modern times that Jonathan Byers wouldn't have found and become obsessed with the musical Next to Normal. Especially like Season 1 Jonathan I can just see him finding this musical about 16 yr old Natalie having to deal with her mother Diane suffering from Bipolar disorder along with depression and hallucinations and her father Dan just trying to keep the marriage and family together. I know that Gabe the baby who dies and then essentially haunts Diane as a teenager is supposed to be Natalie's older brother but just there are just too many parallels between Gabe and Will especially when you take into consideration that for a good chunk of Season 1 from Jonathans POV Wills dead and his mom who already suffers from anxiety is losing her mind with grief and believes hes still alive. And if it wasn't for the fact that we the audience know Will is alive we would be feeling the same way Jonathan is and I feel like he would really connect with Natalie and her struggles with living in the shadows of a brother who isn't really there and just wants to escape and have her own life away from the dysfunction that is her family. And I love Joyce she is one of my favorite characters but the parallels between her and Diane especially during season one aren't hard to miss and it's not hard to see how lost she would be if Will had actually died and I'm not gonna touch on Dan and Lonnie because Lonnie as we all know is a piece of shit and because honestly Dan and Hopper or Dan and Jonathan have a lot of connections especially in the sense that he's just trying to bring Diane back to what this nostalgic version that he remembers instead of dealing with what's going on and this tired man who just wants to keep his family from falling apart and is trying so hard and is holding on so tight to something that isn't really there. I know this has gotten really long and no one's probably going to read this or understand what I'm trying to say but I just really think that Modern! Jonathan would've found Next to Normal and it would've completely destroyed him and he would've immediately connected with Natalie because as much as he loves his mom and knows how much she's done for him he just can't ignore the fact that he's had a lot of responsibility put on him from a very young age and all he's ever wanted was to go to NYU and be there for his family and I know I said it before but I'll say it again I love Joyce Byers with all my heart and she did the best she could with getting Will and Jonathan away from Lonnie but you can't argue that she wasn't always and still can sometimes be very absent in their lives especially when it comes to Jonathan and the relationship between Natalie and Diane and the relationship between Jonathan and Joyce while they do have some major differences do also have some deep similarities. And if anyone actually read this whole mess I really appreciate it and if this gets any kinda feedback or anything I might try and organize my thoughts a bit better if anyone wants more of my insight.

[bowiebond]

AU where right after Billy crashes, he’s about to have a good old angry cry over his baby, he’s about to touch the goop on his cracked window and be lured away by his own curiosity, when he’s blinded by headlights.

“Oh my god, sir, are you alright? I thought I heard a crash…” Joyce “Psycho” Byers is rushing out of the car to check on him, some kid she doesn’t really know, because she’s on her way back from work and heard the whole thing and has never been able to ignore a situation where someone might need help.

“Oh god, you poor thing, you’re bleeding, um, I think I have some bandaids in the car - wait no, we should probably get you checked out all together, what if you have a concussion, do you have a concussion? Tell me if this hurts.” She’s talking too fast in her panic, and he’s kind of bewildered as she reached out to feel under his curls for more wounds, but he snaps out of it quickly when she does poke at the growing lump from where he hit his head on the door more than once. The spilt on his forehead hurts enough.

“Watch it, lady.” He doesn’t have enough will power to yell at an older woman, a mother, but he’s running pretty high on emotions right now.

“Let me check your eyes - Jesus, it’s dark out here.” Joyce mutters, Billy dodging her attempts as pulling his pinched brows apart and up.

“Hands off, will you? I just fucking crashed.”

“Don’t use that tone with me.” It’s an instinctive response and it leaves Billy flushing with shame, which only makes him want to throw something, kick something, and it ends up being his car because he’s not gonna kick a woman.

“Sorry, I have two boys, the oldest used to have a bit of a smart mouth.” Joyce flusters. “Is this your car? It was just you?”

“Yeah. Something hit my fu- my windshield. I swerved. Hit the pole.” He felt ridiculous. It was a silent road, he could have just stepped on the break and he would still have a car, his only fucking freedom and possession.

“It happens to the best of us. I’m just glad you’re not dead. Do you need a ride home?”

“I had a date.” He muttered, but his sour mood would not be fixed by seeing Karen Wheeler. Even he knew that.

“Oh, well, I’m sure they’ll understand if you give them a call. The hospital can be a pretty penny, but I can take you home and your parents can keep an eye on you, I’m sure you have a first aid kit, right?”

Yeah, his parents would not give a solitary shit about his condition. Neil would add to it if he was feeling particularly mean.

“My dads gonna kill me.”

“A car is just a thing, honey, it can be replaced. You can’t be. He’ll understand.” Joyce placed a hand on his shoulder and Billy shook her off with a glare at the hunk of junk. All his best memories, down the drain with one crash. His baby was gone so quickly. Like all good things.

“He really won’t.” He muttered, huffing to him. He’d have to find a pay phone. Get someone to tow her back to his place. She’d take a while to fix up, but he prayed he could do it.

Joyce was quiet a while.

“Why don’t you come home with me? Our couch is a pull out, I have a fully stocked first aid kit, I even did a little nursing in the past, volunteer work, so you can relax for a bit until I’m certain you’re good to go.”

Billy sighed. He had two options. Stay here, sort this shit out himself and walk home, or go with the lady everyone calls crazy but seems relatively nice, who has a pull out that’s somewhere other than his own house.

Billy wasn’t stupid, even if he was stubborn.

“Okay. Thank you. Ma’am.”

“Oh please, Ms Byers or Joyce, whichever is most comfortable for you.” She waved off his attempt at manners and put a hand on his back. “Come on, it’s muggy out here, even this late, and I’d like to go home too.” She joked.

“My car…”

“I have a friend at the station.” She patted his chest. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to tow your car home, or to the nearest shop, whichever is best for you.”

She really was doing too much. Billy was gonna start feeling guilt above the slight humiliation he already felt. He rounded her car, a sense of ease filling him as he opened the door. He felt like he had just escaped something really bad, for some reason. Maybe his fathers wrath for the evening.

“Oh, what’s your name again, honey? I forgot to ask.” Joyce asked from over the roof of the car, a little pinch between her brows.

“…William. Most people just call me Billy though.”

“William, that’s my son name.” She broke into a bright smile. “Well, now I’ll have two Williams in my house. I do hope I don’t mix you two up.” She joked as she slipped into the car. He cracked a small smile as he followed.

“Don’t worry. I won’t be calling you Mom like he does.”

“Oh, Jim says I’m everyone’s mother.” She chuckled as she started the engine. “I won’t hold it against you if you slip up.”

“I won’t.” As nice as she was, she wasn’t his mother.

As she drove them away from the scene, Billy felt the anxiety ease in his chest. She was playing pop hits from the previous decade, but they’re nice, nostalgic, and he finds himself almost drifting off.

“Don’t go falling asleep, Will, you might be concussed, sweetie.” Her hand reaches out and brushes his curls back from his face.

“It’s Billy.” He mumbled, and everything kind of goes hazy as his eyes unfocused. Her car is equally muggy as outside, with the smell of artificial lavender, and the music has trilled to something softer. It’s just perfect for a nap.

“Right. Sorry, honey.” He likes that she’s still patting him as she drives, just his hair where it doesn’t ache or sting. “Just stay awake, okay?”

“Okay…” He would. Or at least, he really did try. He’s pretty sure he’s not concussed, just…sleepy.

It feels nice to fall asleep with a hand on his head like the old days.

[hotxcheeto]

Please chloe price relationship headcanons sfw and nsfw :)

━ 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐂𝐇𝐋𝐎𝐄

Pairing(s) - Chloe Price x G/N!Reader Warnings - Cursing (obvi), NSFW under the cut

You guys are probably friends or at least acquainted before y'all start dating

She's the type to hardcore flirt with someone 'as friends' to test out the waters because its 'her personality' "God, your looking exceptionally hot today." "We'd be a fucking power couple, don't you think?" "Yeah, you look great in that shirt. But it'd look better on my floor."

Cue your blushing and her smirk

But seriously she's testing the waters

She scared you'll end up leaving like the others but that proves very wrong

It finally comes out as a high confession in her room in the middle of the night while laying beside each other on her bed

She's basically gone and just blabbering away at how hot you are and that she's always wanted to kiss you

You are flabbergasted.

Staring at her with wide slightly red eyes in the dark while she just keeps talking "Chloe stop messing around." "I'm not hot stuff... would you be mad if I kissed you?" "...no."

Cue the best kiss you've ever had in your entire life

She's totally a touchy person

LOVES CUDDLING?

Is ALWAYS touching you I mean ALWAYS

Working on your laptop? Her head is on your shoulder watching you do whatever your doing

Laying in bed? She's either laying on you or has you laying on her

Standing at the counter? Her arms around your waist and her chin is on your shoulder

You can't escape her grasp

She really likes laying her head on your shoulder

Likes kissing you too

Like everywhere

The type to stick her head up your shirt when your both laying down

She's a pervert and you cannot tell me otherwise

Loves to lay her head on your stomach a lot

It gives her a sense of security

Likes to be big spoon a lot because she's a cocky douche sweetheart and likes to feel you laying beside her wrapped in her arms so she knows your still there

But on bad nights she gets nightmares about her dad, Rachel and Max leaving she likes to lay her head on your chest or in the crook of your neck

Or her head in your shirt on your chest?

Its for security

It reminds her that you're still there and your not gonna leave her

She likes her hair being played with

She'd probably try to talk you into getting a tattoo or a piercing

Or even dye your hair and she'd totally do it for you

In her bathroom which proved to be a terrible idea the bathtub was multicolored for days

You're best friends with Joyce

She thinks you're an amazing influence on Chloe and helps her not get into so much trouble

Keeps her less angry and more grounded after everything that has happened to her

Also helps calm the fights between her and David

She'd call the school saying there's an 'emergency' or that you had an appointment to get you out so you guys can have fun together

Will force you to stop working if you're stressing yourself out too much and will hide your things to get you to take a break

Loves hanging out at the Junkyard with you and if she finds good quality things she thinks you'll like she saves them to give to you

Will spend her money on things you love even though you told her a thousand times she didn't need to

You guys are definitely saving up to travel

Like a cross-country road trip finding little odd jobs to do just to get out of Oregon

NOW SPICY TIME

She's a mother freaking TOP

I don't really see her being on bottom unless she's really upset that day but even then she's still pretty dominant

LOVES to go down on you in every way possible FOR HOURS just because?

She likes it?

She knows it doesn't really do anything for her pleasure but she gets so fucking happy watching you needy for her

She likes to feel needed but she's also very needy

LOVES having sex high

It's just so much better in her opinion

She also either falls asleep immediately after sex or gets high after and she doesn't mind if you don't want to either or if you pass out

She gets to admire your after-sex glory

The girl loves your ass

Loves to tease you and flirt with you in bed "Jesus hot stuff if I knew you were gonna beg for me this bad I would've asked you out sooner." "Chloe I will literally leave right now."

No you wouldn't of

Lets be honest

A/n: I love these sm I got a little carried away

[just-jordie-things]

The Crown - Steve Harrington

word count: 4462 warnings: dedicated to @high-functioning-fangirl02 <3

You’d give your life to protect these kids.  

These kids you’ve known since you started babysitting them in the sixth grade.  Back when Mrs Henderson hired you to watch Dustin.  Which essentially meant that you’d watch all of them.  But that was alright, over the past seven years of being their designated babysitter, you’d grown to love them all.

Mike Wheeler, the snarky little love-struck shit that you spent grieving with since losing Eleven.  Lucas Sinclair, the sweet boy with the occasional attitude whom you helped construct his Ghostbusters costume. Will Byers, the full time sweetheart that made you cookies for Valentine’s Day after hearing you complain about being dateless.  And of course Dustin, cute little button nosed Dusty with a trash mouthing tendency, whom looked up to you like a role model.

Hell, you were their role model.  Driving them to and from school, covering for them on late nights so they could finish their D&D tournaments.  Fiercely protecting them a year ago when Hawkins was Demogorgon infested.  Standing up for them when you’d see some upperclassmen picking on them.

Those who dared glance the wrong way towards The Party in your presence, were rumored to run home crying with a bleeding nose and terrified shriek.  You never put down the rumors… because maybe it had happened once or twice…

Over time The Party was no longer just a band of middle schoolers.  It had opened up to their babysitter, being you, a senior girl who had not many other friends.  Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, which the boys always claimed was strictly because of family relations.  Not because Dustin was still harbouring a crush for Mike’s older sister.  The town Sheriff, Jim Hopper, who’d proved himself not to be an asshole, and turned out an alright guy.  Joyce Byers, whom you loved like a mother and whom treated you like her own daughter.  You’d frequently been titled ‘the daughter she wished to have had’ which always raised a snarky response from her sons.  Maxine (just Max.  Never Maxine) Hargrove, a high spirited and not your typical girl that you grew fond of easily.  Especially since she was nothing like her big brother.

And then there was Steve Harrington.  Who… really just was at the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up getting roped into the mess that Hawkins Lab had created.  King Steve, as you’d known him before you’d officially met last year by fluke accident, was always the popular boy that had a pretty girl hanging off his arm.  You weren’t sure why that changed so quickly, why he didn’t put himself out there as much as he used to, didn’t party hard anymore, wasn’t bragging about the new girl he was with that week like he was known for.  Maybe that day, when he walked into the Wheeler’s house right as you Nancy and Jonathan were awaiting the Demogorgon’s arrival, maybe he changed then.

Or maybe it was after he’d been sucked into… whatever this all was… and he changed to keep the secret.  Or maybe it was after Nancy had broken up with him, around the same time he started growing closer to Dustin.

But right now as you watched him directing the kids, you were more aware that he wasn’t King Steve anymore, that you had been before.  Sure, you’d realized somewhere along the way he was different.  But it wasn’t until now that you noticed it completely as it was.

“No listen you little shits, no one, is going anywhere” Steve ordered, holding a wash rag in his hand and pointing it between each of the boys, and girl, that stood in front of him.

“Friggin’ pointless just staying here” Dustin grumbled, walking out of the room whilst still muttering.  Mike groaned loudly, dramatically, and left to the living room with Max and Lucas.  You knew that he was still plotting you get out there tonight.  Consequences and dangers be damned.

You looked to Steve with a sigh, a lazy smile on your lips as you walked past him to go after Dustin.  He watched you go, letting out a breath as well as he put his hands on his hips and standing alone in the hall with his thoughts.

He’d give his life to protect these kids.

“Dusty?” You called gently as you walked into the kitchen, seeing Dustin sitting on the floor against the dishwasher.  Your brows furrowed as you sat across from him by the cabinets.  “You alright kiddo?”

“Would I be sitting in here brooding if I was?” He quipped, though you knew he meant well.

“Sweetheart you’re too adorable to be a brooder” You laughed softly, pulling your knees up slightly.  “A pouter maybe, but not a brooder”

“Thanks y/n” He responded dryly.  You rolled your eyes in response to his sarcasm.

“Come on kid, open up a little.  It’s me” Your words were soft, which did prompt Dustin to consider explaining to you his thoughts.  “Please? If we make it out of this alive I’ll take you to the arcade.  I’ve got a big jar full of quarters I’ve saved up-”

“Okay okay I’ll take the bribe” Dustin caved with a laugh that made your mood lighten.  “Look it’s gonna sound lame and cheesy but… everyone else is helping.  Jonathan and Nance and Mrs Byers and Hopper and Elle, but what am I doing?”

“You’re staying safe” Your answer came out instantly, but it didn’t seem to be the one the boy was looking for.

“No I’m not, I’m sitting on the sidelines, watching everyone else go be heroes and getting hurt.  I’m not doing a damn thing!”

“Hey” You hummed softly, and scooted over closer to put your head on his shoulder.  “You’re a hero Dustin.  Don’t tell yourself any differently.  All of you are, Mike too, and Lucas, and Max, and-”

“Steve?” Dustin offered, and you nodded, looking at him confusedly by the strange tone of voice he used.

“Of course, why’re you looking at me like that?”

“No reason” Dustin shrugged nonchalantly, brushing off the uncomfortable air between you both.

“Alright well, you should believe me” You continued.  “Even if you don’t think so, you’re all my heroes, got it Henderson?” The boy smiled and nodded, prompting you to push the cap of his hat down playfully before he could get up and leave the room.

“Mike’s probably still planning his attack” He told you, but you shrugged and waved a hand.

“Let him plot and brood” You said, and Dustin’s mouth fell open.

“How come Mike can brood but I can’t?” You rolled your eyes, still waving your hand for him to get out of here.

“Just go plot with him, I know you’re itching to” You said, and he grinned wide at you, glad you were letting him go plan their escape and attack.

“Thanks y/n!” He called, already racing out of the room.  “You’re the best!” You laughed, shaking your head as you stood back up and dusted off the pants of your overalls.  Steve came in a few moments later, watching you almost suspiciously.

“What?” You questioned, and he shrugged, shaking his head.

“Nothing.  Just wondering why you’re permitting them to conspire against us” He said.

“They’re not conspiring, they’re just discussing.  No harm in that”

“Um, every harm in that.  As in all of us, being harmed, because of that” He said, but you didn’t really seem to care what he thought about it.

“They’re fine, we’re all fine, don’t freak out so much mom” You said, walking out towards the kids and seeing them all circled up and discussing their big plan.

“I’m not a mom” Steve argued, and you chuckled, turning to see him, his dish rag on his shoulder, hands on hips.  It only made you laugh more.

“Mhm, alright.  Well then what would you call yourself?” You replied sarcastically, nodding towards his own stance, and making Steve second guess himself.

“This- you-! Alright whatever just stay away from the windows and go be safe somewhere” He muttered, walking into the living room where the kids were.  You rolled your eyes again, but couldn’t help the smile on your lips.

Perhaps, you thought, King Steve was the king of something else now.

You watched as he was waving his rag at the kids again, yelling at them for plotting behind his back, and reminding them that no one was going anywhere.  But even as Dustin pouted, Steve was rubbing his hand over the thirteen year old’s head.  Almost soothingly, like he felt bad for ending their little meeting.

“What a mom” You mumbled, and headed back into the kitchen for something to eat.

You used to resent Steve, back when he was the king of school and didn’t care about anything more than he cared about his popularity and his hair.  Back when he didn’t give a shit about pretty much anything.  And looking at him now and seeing him watch over these kids, you could physically feel your heart swelling.  If that isn’t character development, you weren’t sure what was.

You weren’t sure why it made you feel so bubbly either.

“Listen runts, we’re staying here, we’re staying safe, and we’re not dying!” Steve said, for what felt like the fifth time.  But Mike kept arguing back at him.

“Everyone else is out there!”

“Everyone else knows how to fight all that shit!” Steve retorted.  “We are staying, here” He repeated slowly, waving his rag between each word.  “You got that?”

“You’re just saying that cause y/n’s here.  If she wasn’t here, we’d all be getting in your car and going!” Lucas spoke up.  Your brows furrowed at that.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You asked, ignoring your search for food and now strutting into the room where everyone else was.  “Am I dragging you down?” You asked, almost sarcastic, but wondering what he’d actually meant by his announcement.  Were you dragging them down?

“No, Steve would just protect your ass over our asses” Max shrugged, and the others nodded.

“What the hell? Everyone here is protecting their own asses, I’m not getting killed for a bunch of kids!” Steve said, making flustered and jerky movements.  You brushed off their newly sprung argument over where Steve’s bat is swinging and who it’s swinging for.

Apparently, The Party was certain that he’d die for you, rather die for them.  But you didn’t care much about what they thought.  They’d always thought that you and Steve were meant to be some power couple, but you supposed it was just cause you were the same age and the kids only ever saw you two together.  There was no real evidence (as far as they showed) towards the ‘chemistry’ you and Steve supposedly had.

You wandered to the window, curiously looking out it with your arms wrapped around yourself.

“Will you just shut up?” Mike’s yelling made you jump a little, and you turned to see your friends all still arguing with each other.  You smiled slightly, meeting Steve’s eyes as he gave you a bored look.  You just laughed a little bit back at him.  Steve’s expression softened into a small smile.  Your face flushed with heat, and you nervously turned away from him to look back out the window again.

A light blinded you almost instantly, making you squint your eyes and put a hand over them to try and clear your vision.

“What the hell?” You muttered, leaning closer to the glass to see what was going on.  Headlights, there was a car here.  Someone was here.  “Steve?” You called, not turning away from the window.  He came over right away, looking outside to see a familiar Camaro parked in the driveway.

“Shit” He grumbled, walking towards the front door.

“What- where are you going? Who is it?” You asked, following quickly after him, but Steve quickly turned to make you stay back.

“Just stay in here-”

“Sinclair!” A voice hollered from outside, and you jumped, eyes widening as you recognized it.  “I know you’re in there!”

“Billy?” You whispered to Steve, who nodded.  You stepped backwards, eyes never leaving Steve’s.  “What’s he doing here?” Your voice was quiet.

Billy Hargrove, was the most vile, horrible person you’d ever met.  And his wicked ways of bending people to his will, shook you intensely to your core.  It was no secret to the others that Billy not only terrified you, but would seductively torture you every day.  Sure, you’d been picked on before, but this was different.  Every day he’d come to you, hoping to get something out of you, just to mess with you.

“Come on babe, a little kiss, just a little one, we can discuss the rest later”

“You don’t want to get a ride home with me and have some fun?”

“When’re you finally gonna give this up and just put out?”

You shuddered slightly, practically feeling his hot breath against your skin just thinking about the things he’s said to you.  Stopping you in the hallways, finding you at your locker, approaching you while you waited at Steve’s car for a ride home.

“I know you’re in there you little pig! Come out here or I’ll have to go in!” His voice was dangerous, threatening.  And you felt a legitimate fear for your life, and the kids’.

“It’s fine, you’re fine, I promise” Steve said quietly, out of earshot of the others.  “All of you stay here, stay away from the windows” He ordered, giving you one last look before you turned and went to The Party.  They needed you right now, all huddled around Lucas and Max to make sure if Billy were to look inside, he wouldn’t see them.

“Come on guys” You said softly, ushering them as far away from the window as you could.  Steve, on the other hand, opened the door and stepped outside.

Instead of hiding in a room, completely out of sight of the maniac, you all ducked under the windowsill to see what was happening.

“Am I dreaming or is that really you Harrington?” You felt your entire body quivering upon hearing Billy’s voice.  Dustin, who was crouched next to you, turned and gave you a worried look, but your eyes were dead set on the outside.

“Yeah it’s me, don’t cream your pants” Steve responded, walking out towards him as he pulled off his leather jacket.

“What’re you doing here amigo?” Billy asked, the cigarette hanging off his lips moving as he spoke.

“I could ask you the same thing” Steve responded, void of emotion.  “Amigo”

“Lookin’ for my step sister.  Little birdie told me she was here”

“Huh, that’s weird I don’t know her” Steve lied easily, and convincingly.  You prayed to God that Billy believed him.

“Small? Redhead?” Billy replied disbelievingly.  “Bit of a bitch?”

“Ashole” Max muttered to herself inside.

“Doesn’t ring a bell, sorry buddy” Steve replied, still not sounding like he cared even an inkling.  Billy nodded, taking out his cigarette.

“You know… I don’t how this, this whole situation Harrington is um.., it’s giving me the heebie jeebies” Billy said, looking at Steve a little more threateningly.

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

“My thirteen year old sister goes missing all day, and then I find her with you” Billy pointed accusatory hands towards Steve, giving him a disgusted look.  “In a strangers house” He continued.  “And you lie to me about it” Steve chuckled bitterly, shaking his head and looking away for a moment.

“Yeah, maybe you were dropped too much as a child or what” Steve said snarkily.  But Billy just grinned his twisted grin and licked his tongue over the front of his teeth.  “I don’t know what you don’t understand about what I just said”

You felt a chill go down your spine as Steve’s protectiveness took over his tone.  Dustin beside you mumbling a quiet, “Holy shit”

“She’s not here” Steve said carefully.  Billy nodded, looking pointedly towards the window where you and The Party were all huddled and looking out of.

“Then who’s that?” He asked, pointing his cigarette towards his sister.

“Down!” You hissed, and the five of you dropped to the floor so fast you all groaned from the impact of the floor.

“Shit!” Dustin cursed.  “Did he see us?”

“Oh shit” Steve grumbled.  “Okay listen-” Billy pushed him to the ground before he could explain anything.  The boy kicked him, before storming up into the house.

“Well well well” Billy smirked, seeing you and The Party standing there together, you in front of all of them.  “y/n l/n, what a lovely little surprise” You grimaced, but he didn’t seem to care.  “And Lucas Sinclair, not so much a surprise at all” You moved over more in front of Lucas, who’s hands grabbed onto your arm out of fear.  “I thought I told you to stay away from him Max”

“Billy, go away” Max retorted, but her voice wavered.

“You disobeyed me” Billy leaned over his step sister tauntingly.  “And you know what happens when you disobey me” He added in a hushed, volatile voice.

“Billy-”

“I break things” He uttered, before pushing you aside, crashing your body into the wall.  Before slamming Lucas up against the cupboards.

“Billy stop!” Max and the others began to yell, Dustin rushing over to help you up, but you were already standing up on your own.

“Get off of me!” Lucas cried.

“Since Maxine won’t listen to me, maybe you will” Billy muttered.  “You stay away from her.  Stay-! Away from her” He yelled awkwardly.  “Do you hear me?”

“I said get off me!” Lucas screamed again, followed by a knee between Billy’s legs.  You gasped, feeling a moment of pride as Billy stumbled back and released him.

“You are so dead Sinclair!” Billy hollered.  “You’re dead-”

“No” Steve grabbed Billy by the shoulder, spinning him around roughly.  “You are” And with that he swung his fist and planted it hard enough against Billy���s jaw to make him topple over.

“Steve!” You yelped out of surprise.  He looked at you for a moment, nodding in reassurance as he shook out his hand.  It’d been a while since he’d hit anybody.  Billy stood back up, laughing menacingly.  “You’re a fucking psycho!” You screeched before you could stop yourself.

“Looks like you got some fire in you after all huh!?” He yelled at Steve.  “I’ve been waiting to meet this King Steve everybody’s been telling me so much about” He stepped closer to Steve, glaring at him.

“Get out” Steve muttered, pushing Billy’s chest lightly to move him away from him.  Billy stepped back and stood there for a moment.  And after a few seconds passed you were certain that he was going to stay back.

Until he swung swiftly at Steve, but missed as Steve ducked just in time.  You gasped, clapping your hands over your mouth in terror.  Steve stood back up and swung his fist again, hitting Billy and making him stumble again.

“Yes! Get him Steve!” Dustin cheered, and the others began to as well.  You couldn’t find yourself to say anything, just wince every time a punch was made.  Steve hit him two more times, and Billy ran into the kitchen sink.  Leaning back and wincing in pain.

“Kill him! Kill him!” Mike was yelling.  But Billy grabbed a plate of the counter, smashing it over Steve’s head, and making him fall to the ground.

“Steve!” You screamed now, taking long strides to get over to him, only to be pushed away by Billy.  Who hit Steve as soon as he stood up again.  He grabbed Steve by the shoulders, staring him down.

“No one.  Tells me what to do” He muttered angrily, and threw his head forward hard into Steve’s knocking him down again.

“Fucking hell” You mumbled, tears beginning to prick your eyes in fear that Billy was actually going to kill Steve.  The mullet wearing psycho leapt onto Steve, pinning him down and swinging punch after punch against his face.

“Stop it!” Mike yelled at the top of his lungs, but it did nothing to end Billy’s attack.

“Steve!” Dustin hollered.

You stood frozen, every scene in front of you soundless, and moving slowly.  You could only feel your heart in your chest, sending you into an anxiety attack, you were sure.  But it barely mattered to you in that moment.  You turned away, and your eyes landed on something.

The syringe used on Will earlier.

Sleep… put him to sleep… your thoughts were broken as you reached for it, looking at it in your hands for a few seconds, before stepping forward and slamming the needle into Billy’s neck without a hesitation.  Mike and Dustin gasped, standing back.  Everyone’s eyes stuck on the syringe hanging out of BIlly’s neck now.  A disgust filling them up at the sight.

“Shit y/n” Dustin mumbled, his hand covering his mouth to stop vomit from flowing.

Billy stood up, wobbling slightly as he turned to look at you.  He pulled the needle out of his neck, vision beginning to fail.  “The hell is this?” He asked, trying to step towards you threateningly, but he was wobbling so much you didn’t even move.  No longer afraid of him.

“You’re fucking done Hargrove” You muttered, and before thinking twice to second guess yourself, punching him across the jaw, and sending him back on his ass.  Billy groaned, staying down where he’d fallen against the couch.

“Shit what did you do” He mumbled, growing dizzy from the mix of drug and pain.

A few moments later he completely passed out.

“Fuck” You hissed in pain, putting your bruising knuckles against your mouth.  You didn’t think punching someone would hurt so damn much.

“y/n holy shit”

“Are you okay?”

“That was badass!”

The Party was fussing and cheering for you, but you didn’t respond, kneeling down by Steve next and counting up all the cuts and bruises he was beginning to sport.  He was unconscious, that was for sure.  But he’d be in for a world of hurt when he woke up.

“Come on, help me get him back to Jon’s bed” You called to the kids.

It was difficult moving him, but after ten minutes you’d managed to get him into Jonathan’s room to lie on the bed there.  You were sat next to him, a cold wet rag in your hand, and the open first aid kit on the ground.  It took you awhile to clean off all the blood and apply bandages where you thought they were necessary.  There was a frozen bag of peas you’d put over one of his eyes to stop the swelling, but so far it still looked pretty bad.

The Party had sat with you for what felt like a long time before you told them to go back to the living room and wait for the others to return home.  Dustin put up a small fight about it, but eventually gave in and listened to your order.  And now it was just you kneeling on the ground by Steve, watching over him carefully.  Making sure he was breathing okay, and that nothing would begin to bleed again.

“Well King Steve, you got quite the ass kicking” You mumbled, just to yourself.  Your fingers placed a few stray hairs on his forehead back into place.  “But your crown is still there” You smiled to yourself, fingertips gently brushing his hair.

“y/n?” Your eyes looked back at him as he mumbled, almost incoherently.  “What happened?” The poor boy’s eyes weren’t even open.

“You put up a really good fight” You told him softly.  He winced, the pain probably beginning to settle in.

“Did I win?” He groaned, eyes clenching shut momentarily.  You bit down on your lip and shook your head, even though he couldn’t see you.

“You put up a really good fight” You repeated yourself, playing with his hair again.  Steve sighed, knowing the answer.

“Is he gone?” He asked, eyes finally beginning to flutter open.

“Yeah… yeah he won’t be back any time soon, I’m sure” You answered.  Steve looked up at you, smiling down gently at him.  He smiled back instantly, and moved his arm to push your hair back, but even at it’s slight movement you winced in pain.  “You’re in pretty bad shape” You told him quietly.  “But you’ll heal up alright”

“Are you okay?” He asked, and you nodded.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine” You shrugged slightly.  “We’re all really worried about you.  Dustin thought you were dead” Steve chuckled painfully, shaking his head a little bit.

“Are they alright? Max and Lucas?”

“Yeah, we’re all good Steve” You hummed with a slight nod.  You leaned forward, a little closer to him to check on the eye swelled under the bag of peas.  You frowned, seeing the black and blue bruise that only seemed to be spreading.

“I’m alright, don’t fuss so much” Steve said, putting his hand over the bag and pushing it back against his face.  Your eyes met his for a moment.

“You’re pretty bruised up Harrington” You sighed, taking the wet rag in your hand and dabbing it gently on his bruised cheek.  “There’s not an inch of your face spared”

“It’ll be fine, I’ll heal up”

“Years from now, maybe” You replied sarcastically, and he smiled at you while you carefully pressed the cold cloth to his face.

“You’re beautiful, you know that?” He murmured, and you looked at him for the briefest of seconds before going back to work.  Now is not the time to talk about feelings, you thought to yourself.

“Yeah? Go play hero some more and you’ll never see anything again” You told him, and he shrugged slightly, not having a response to that.

“I just wanted to remind you.  In case you haven’t been told in a while” He said.  You bit on the inside of your cheek to keep from smiling too much.  You looked down at him, your eyes softening slightly.

You leaned over closer to him, pausing for a moment before pressing your lips lightly against his.  It was a chaste kiss, only lasting a few seconds as you didn’t want to hurt him anymore than he already was.  When you pulled back, you smiled nervously at him, and he only smiled back at you.

“You’re lucky you didn’t die Harrington” You said, and got right back to work on pressing the rag to his wounds.

“That I am” He replied cheekily.

You giggled softly, smiling down at him and wondering just when he’d changed so much.

You knew he’d give his life for these kids too, just like you would.

love me some babysitter steve

xoxo ~ jordie

[blenderfullasarcasm]

📓

okay so I haven't written it (yet) but I've been thinking about it a lot recently

it's a stranger things fix it fic

so let's say that even after you get sucked into the upside down you can't actually die

unless you like get ripped to shreds by monsters or something

but you can't die of hunger or thirst or anything

so anyway Barbara had pepper spray on her when she got dragged away (bc apparently the 80s were when pepper spray started to get popular for self defense) and she managed to get it out and use it on the demogorgon

the demogorgon did not like that

barb managed to get away and of course she tried to find her car and go home but obviously that didn't exactly work bc she's still in the upside down

she can find her house but it's no longer her home

she and will both survive the initial attack but they never cross paths because they don't live in the same parts of hawkins

so will gets rescued because he can communicate and she wasn't able to figure it out bc her mother isn't galaxy brained like joyce

eventually her parents move out of the house because they think it's haunted by barb's ghost

and like

they're not wrong

but also them moving away pretty much removes any chance of anyone rescuing barb

ooo you know what?

i’m making barb a girl scout

that way she would realistically have first aid knowledge and some basic survival training and wouldn't die, like, instantly

eventually barb reaches her threshold for staying shut up inside this weird version of her house and starts exploring

because there's only so much hiding terrified for your life you can do before you become both numb to it and bored of it

so she explores and ends up knowing this version of hawkins like the back of her hand

so when she sees the demobats swarming she knows something's up

and she's curious, so sue her

and waits for them to disperse

and there she finds this guy bleeding out

she thinks she might kinda recognize him?

and anyway he's the first person she's seen in like three years

so she cleans his wounds as much as she can and stitches them and bandages him up

(she's gotten pretty good at it over the years though she doesn't know what's going to happen if/when she runs out of first aid supplies)

so Eddie and Barb have to rescue themselves :)

idk how they get out though

I mean I guess they could just like...crawl out the fault lines post 'two days later'

but I feel like that wouldn't be enough time for Eddie to heal enough for that

Maybe Barb carries him? She's been fending off upside down monsters for years, she's probably strong enough

oh also the main cast is there when they crawl out bc they think it’s gonna be some fresh new monster

but it’s not, it’s barb and eddie

so we get a shot of everyone watching the portal, grim and battle ready, and then when eddie and barb emerge they immediately drop their weapons and run to help them

dustin is wearing one of eddie’s tshirts

and steve is wearing his battle jacket

Dustin rushed forward to help them out but Nancy stops him and aims her gun at them and asks them with her voice and hands trembling to prove that they're real and not one of vecna's hallucinations or whatever

barb: you used to dress up as a princess for Mike's game nights but secretly you wanted to try being a ranger

and then reunions and hugs and tears (and hospitals) all around

I'm gonna call it Deus Ex Barbara

[strangerthings4theories]

Billy Is Not A ‘B’ Character In Stranger Things

Yeah, his name starts with a ‘B’. That’s not what I mean. 

Everyone’s noticed an interesting trend in Stranger Things: if your name starts with a ‘B’, you’re probably going to die. First it was Barb. Then it was Bob. Then it was Billy. So, like Barb and Bob, Billy’s probably gonna stay dead. Right?

Not so fast. I’m a writer, fam. I’ve studied storytelling my whole life. And when you line up all the characters who have died so far (excluding the ‘bad guys’ and bit players), I can immediately tell you one of these characters is not like the others.

In fact, I can tell you Billy is not the ‘B’ character of S3. Alexei is. The Duffers just slid over to the ‘A’ to throw us off.

It all comes down to the weight each character is assigned. Are they a protagonist central to the story? A secondary character designed to comment on or reveal things about the protagonist(s)? Or are they just an extra, designed to fulfill a specific role in a smattering of scenes?

You don’t have to scratch your head over this. If you know storytelling mechanics, sorting characters is pretty easy (usually).

Let’s try it out...

One Of These Characters Is Not Like The Others

>>Barb, Bob, and Alexei have an arc spanning only one season. The Duffers never intended to let them survive for two. When they die, they leave no loose threads behind them except for other characters' grief and remorse. (And in Barb's case, a deep sense of injustice - which Nancy resolves in S2.)

>>Billy’s already had an arc spanning two seasons. When he dies, he leaves a TON of loose threads. He never:

made up for bullying Max

made up for hurting El (Starcourt was a good start, but not enough)

apologized to Lucas

apologized to Steve

stood up to his father and broke his hold over him

had a fulfilling friendship/relationship with anyone

grieved his mother (if she’s dead), found her again (if she’s alive), or otherwise came to terms with her memory

reclaimed the sweet, happy boy we saw on the beach

healed from the abuse he suffered throughout his life

hit back at the Mind Flayer, made Him regret possessing him, and emerged victorious

If he’s dead for good, this is disastrous storytelling. A good writer would never dream of cutting a character’s arc so short. It makes people (and other writers) grumpy.

>>Barb, Bob, and Alexei have a handful of narrative functions. They’re intended to show us more about specific characters, or redirect the plot at specific, identifiable points.

Barb is Nancy’s best friend. Her death was designed to propel Nancy’s coming of age journey. In S1, it shows Nancy how selfish she’s been and brings her and Jonathan together. In S2, it leads her to reject Steve because he doesn’t understand how desperately she needs justice for Barb. When Nancy secures this justice, Barb’s role in the story is complete.

Bob is Joyce’s boyfriend. His relationship with her shows us Joyce is holding herself back and not pursuing the man she really wants (Hopper). Throughout S2, he helps Joyce and the kids solve puzzles crucial to the plot. Then he helps them escape the lab and dies a hero. With that, his role in the story is complete.

Alexei is an expert on the Russians’ “key” machine. His primary role is to give Hopper, Joyce, and Murray the info they need to shut it down. Along the way, he provides comic relief, helps Murray overcome his hatred of Russians, and shows us Russians and Americans can coexist peacefully. Finally, his death demonstrates the lethal threat posed by Grigori. After that, his role in the story is complete.

>>In terms of narrative structure, Billy is a heavyweight. While I can rattle off just a handful of functions for Barb, Bob, and Alexei, I can’t do the same for Billy. Yes, in S2 he operated at ‘B’ character level. But in S3 he broke out and took control of the narrative. The entire plot of S3 hinges on his possession by the Mind Flayer. Without him, the story simply would not happen.

In addition, Billy is not defined by a single relationship. Just now, I summed up Barb, Bob, and Alexei like this: Barb is Nancy’s best friend. Bob is Joyce’s boyfriend. Alexei is an expert on the “key” machine. You can’t do that for Billy. He sits in the middle of a whole constellation of relationships! He is:

an antagonist to Lucas

Max’s step brother and the “monster” she defeats/tames

Steve’s rival for the kingship of Hawkins High

Karen’s (eventually rejected) love interest

Neil’s terrorized son

his mother’s sweet little boy who lost his way

El’s opposite and equal, the yin to her yang

Will’s older “twin” - in Will’s words, “a new me” (it’s no accident they share the same name)

This is just with the main cast so far. He interacts with a slew of minor characters as well, such as Tommy H. and the Holloways. And you can bet he’ll develop relationships with the rest of the main cast. The potential is incredible! Among other things:

Hopper will see himself in Billy and become the positive father figure Billy needs.

Joyce will see Will in Billy and become the protective mother figure he needs.

Jonathan will resent Billy’s presence and hold a grudge. Over time, he’ll learn that monsters can change.

It’s a lot, okay? And it’s not an accident. This kind of narrative pull only happens by design. 

Other characters who have the same pull include Hopper, Will, and El.

Billy is not a secondary character. He is a main character, the kind you can point to and say “yes, this show is about him.” That’s why, when an article I read recently said “we haven’t had a REAL major character death yet (Billy doesn’t count),” I laughed.

It’s true. We haven’t had a REAL major character death yet. But only because Billy ain’t gonna stay dead.

Peace. ✌️

»»————-　✼　————-««

P.S. If you want to figure out who’s a ‘B’ character like Barb, Bob, and Alexei, use this handy-dandy checklist:

has a name that starts with A, B, possibly C (Barb, Bob, Alexei, Argyle...)

is a sweet, adorable character that makes you like them (to make their death more painful)

can be defined by a single relationship

has a handful of narrative functions

For these reasons, Argyle is at the top of my list for S4. He's already been introduced as "Jonathan's new best friend" - an eerie parallel to Nancy and Barb.

[psychdelia]

christmas used to be billy’s favorite holiday. he loved setting up the tree every year with his mom, matching big smiles on their faces as she carried him to set the star on top. he would help her cook and bake, dance around the kitchen with her. she always surprised him with more gifts than he anticipated, and he would give her a card with messy handwriting and glitter and a drawing of the two of them with i love you mommy scribbled on the bottom.

and then she left and christmas joy was replaced with pain. his father screaming and presenting him with fists instead of gifts. and then max and susan came along and she was their little angel. spoiled with gifts and love while he received nothing but hurt.

billy hates christmas now. hates the holidays in general, but christmas the most. spends all day sulking, curled up in bed and crying. neil gets on him about it, maybe smacks him around before leaving him even worse than how he started. he lost all hope that maybe she’ll come back as a christmas miracle, scoop him up and take him away from all the hurt.

his plan for the day was to stay in bed. avoid the world. but then neil came barging in, demanding billy get off his ass and take max to the byers’ for a christmas party. he was stupid to think that he could catch a break after being forced to ‘celebrate’ with them yesterday, which essentially meant being forced to help susan in the kitchen and watch max get showered in love and gifts while he received nothing.

so he got up. threw on a dark green sweater, tight jeans and boots, still not nearly warm enough for hawkins winter. he silently drove max to the house, only looking at her when she didn’t get out after a minute of being parked.

“what.” billy spoke flatly, his first word of the day.

“come and hang out with us.” max rushed out, nervously fidgeting with the hem of her sweater.

billy just sighed.

“i’m not really in the mood to hang out with a bunch of snotty little shits, so,” he shrugged. “maybe next year.”

“it’s not just us! nancy and jonathan are there. and mrs. byers and chief hopper! and,” a pause. “robin and steve.” she added on quietly.

“max i don’t really think-“ he was interrupted by a knock on his window. he turned to find a very happy and smiling mrs. byers eagerly waving at them.

“come inside!” she urged as billy rolled his window down.

billy just looked at max and gestured towards the house, ignoring her dramatic defeated groan before she got out.

“you too!” joyce grabbed billy’s shoulder, smile faltering at the way he flinched, her touch unexpected. “max told me you guys already celebrated yesterday. what’s another celebration?”

“i don’t think it’s a good idea mrs. byers.” he replied with a small smile, hoping to charm his way out of this situation.

she sighed. “honey, it’s your second and probably last christmas in hawkins before you go to school back home.” she responded to his shocked expression with a sad smile. “we all figured you’d be applying to schools there. and max might’ve slipped up. don’t be mad at her! she’s just scared to lose you, is all.”

billy frowned and looked down at his hands. he hadn’t even told her he was only applying to schools in california. just trying to graduate and get the hell out of indiana, go back home.

“come on, kiddo. your sister would appreciate it.” a pause. “i’ll spike your eggnog.”

billy sighed, taking a few seconds to contemplate before getting out of the car.

“oh you must be freezing.” joyce rolled her eyes as she tugged at his sweater. “you kids and your fashion. you’re gonna get yourself sick like this. hawkins isn’t california!”

billy snorted. “duh.” he mumbled as she dragged him inside.

billy should’ve expected the stares. the guarded, confused and slightly angry expressions at his presence. he felt small, being glared at by nearly everyone in the room. he wanted to turn around, walk right back out that door. almost did if it weren’t for joyce stopping him in his tracks and holding his arm.

“oh, stop that you brats.” joyce huffed. “it’s christmas. be nice! and if you can’t be nice… no more cookies.” she smirked as they all groaned in protest in unison.

billy didn’t really care about the kids. he apologized to lucas not too long after that night, even agreed to the stupid deal to drive him around town and rev his engine to receive his forgiveness in full. it took him longer to approach steve, though. didn’t have the balls to do it until a couple months before steve graduated. he found him alone in the library, studying to get his gpa high enough to be able to graduate and get his diploma.

“can i sit here?” billy gestured towards the empty chair across from steve, who was glaring at him.

“only if you don’t give me another concussion.”

billy gnawed on his bottom lip as he slid into the seat, staring at the table and avoiding eye contact like a goddamn child.

it took him a minute to finally look up and spit out those two words he’d been meaning to say since that night. but it wasn’t the apologizing he dreaded most, it was the explanation and conversation that followed. he expected steve would ask questions, and shit did he have a lot.

billy kept his answers short, general. didn’t spill too much about all the shit going on in his life and in his head. steve didn’t look satisfied with his answers, but he eventually stopped asking questions. gave billy a stiff nod with a,

“yeah. fine. i accept your apology, i guess. just don’t fuck with me or the kids anymore.”

and that was that. billy kept his distance from them altogether. he occasionally carted lucas and max around for their stupid little dates, teasing them here and there. but it was never malicious.

now he stood right in front of the door in joyce’s house, itching to get out. lucas, max and her friends el and will were the only ones not staring at him apprehensively. the curly haired one was whining, asking why he had to be there, throwing in a few words he was probably too young to be saying. boy wheeler was following suit, making grand gestures and calling him an asshole. nancy looked just as prissy as always, turning her nose up. jonathan avoided eye contact. steve wasn’t quite glaring, but he didn’t look too happy to see him either. just because they were on okay terms didn’t mean they were on great terms. his girl robin didn’t seem too thrilled either.

“i’m just gonna..” billy pointed towards the table filled with drinks and snacks. he walked away as the commotion continued behind him, helping himself to the bowl labeled adult eggnog. he grimaced after the first sip before pouring himself a little more.

it was hard to make himself comfortable. he sat stiff and tense on the edge of the couch, as far away from everyone as he could get. the burn of the rum didn’t do much to heal the hurt in his chest, the pain of abandonment and grief he felt this time every year. he tried to tune everyone out, ignoring the kids yelling as they played video and board games, hopper as he snuck the teenagers more eggnog and beer, joyce as she continued to force feed everyone her christmas appetizers.

he found himself staring at the tree, messily decorated to the brim and a little lopsided. his gaze shifted to the walls, family pictures of just the brothers, then joyce and the brothers, and some including hopper and el. he was unconsciously playing with the chain around his neck, chest getting tighter and tighter. he forced his eyes away from the pictures to find jonathan helping joyce cook and set up dinner in the kitchen, laughing and smiling.

that was his breaking point. he set down his empty cup and sped off to the bathroom, scrubbing at his wet eyes. he shut the door behind him, pacing back and forth, trying to breathe through the lump in his throat. he eventually gave up trying to fight the tears off, a christmas tradition for him at this point. he eventually sat down in and slumped back against the bathtub, closing the curtains and shielding him from the rest of the world. he tuned out the music and chatter from outside, instead hugging his knees to his chest and hiding his face in his hands as he cried.

he knew he shouldn’t have listened to joyce. he shouldn’t have gotten out of his car and stepped foot into this house. he should’ve just gone home and lay in bed all day, much less embarrassing than crying in a goddamn bathtub with people right outside.

but here he was, trying to make up for lost time and bonding and memories with max, to show her that he cares and loves her and isn’t going to abandon her like his mother. and yet he was alone, abandoned and abandoning max in just 5 months. his chest hurt as he cried harder, tears freely slipping down his cheeks and staining his stupid sweater. he was nearly wheezing for air, not getting enough in between his sobs.

he must’ve been too loud because he didn’t hear the door open and shut. didn’t even know he wasn’t alone until steve pulled back the curtain, stunned to find him curled up there and crying.

billy wanted to snarl at him, glare at him with a smartass comment about the bathroom being occupied, but all that came out when he opened his mouth was another choked sob.

“shit, man, you don’t look so good.” steve spoke the obvious. “hargrove, you gotta breathe. don’t want you turning blue on me.”

billy turned away, shielded his face with his arms for god knows what. maybe he was expecting a punch, to be told he was a little bitch for crying like this. but all he received were hesitant hands gently prying his wrists away from his face.

“hey.” steve murmured, now only inches away from him. billy didn’t realize he climbed into the tub with him, kneeling before him in the cramped space.

“fuck off.” billy breathed out, all bark no bite, trying to pull his arms away from steve’s grip. but steve didn’t let up.

“why? so you can suffocate yourself to death in mrs. byers’ bathroom?” steve mused, rubbing circles into billy’s wrists with his thumb. “not gonna happen.”

“i don’t need-“ he choked up, words cracking as more tears unleashed. “i don’t need a fucking babysitter.”

“i know.” steve let go of his wrists, sitting back against the opposite end of the small tub. billy almost whimpered at the loss. was so glad he could will himself against at least one thing.

“what about a friend?” steve took in the way billy’s eyes shifted towards him, expression guarded. “look, man, you’re graduating and leaving next summer,” how many people had max told? “and you’re obviously going through some shit so i don’t see why i can’t at least try to help you through this so we,” he sighed as he gestured between them. “so we can be friends and not on bad terms anymore because i’m tired of having enemies.” he rushed out, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “i know what it feels like to want to leave this shithole, trust me. robin already applied to schools in cali too and i was maybe thinking about going with her and if we end up in the same place then maybe we can all be friends and help each other out.” he rushed out again.

billy just stared at him, bottom lip quivering pathetically. here steve was, offering to be his friend and follow both him and robin all the way to california. he’d be stupid if he didn’t take the offer.

“what? you following your little girlfriend out to cali for her to dump you on your ass like the last one?” billy was never too bright in the friendship industry.

“what? no. robin’s not - we’re not like that. we’re just friends.” steve frowned. “i already applied to some community colleges out there. but this isn’t about that right now.” he waved his hand dismissively. “you gonna tell me what’s up with you now? a secret for a secret?”

billy opened his mouth to try and reject the offer, to tell steve to fuck off again, but another sob wracked his body. he let out a frustrated groan through his tears as he scrubbed uselessly at his eyes.

“fuckin’ hate christmas.” he choked out, grabbing onto the saint necklace. his mother’s. “it-“ a whimper. “it was my favorite. at least until my mom,” he shut his eyes tightly, tears spilling out of the corners. “she just. up and left. left me with no note or explanation and a piece of shit father.” he exhaled shakily. “he beat her. and when she left..” he trailed off, gesturing towards himself. “there were no more fucking homemade pies or trees or gifts. just him. always drunk and angry every christmas, blaming me for her. then max and susan came into the picture and they had their perfect little family. celebrated every year.” the without me went unspoken.

billy hadn’t realized steve was inching closer and closer to him until he looked up from the bathtub and found steve inches away from him again, eyes big and sad as they looked over him.

“what are you-“ billy didn’t get to finish his sentence before he was enveloped in a big hug, the guy squeezing him tightly.

“hugging you.” steve mumbled into his shoulder, forcing billy’s face into the crook of his neck. in no time he was crying yet again, right into steve’s fucking shoulder.

steve was good at hugs. good at comfort. the way he rubbed all along billy’s back, one arm secured around his waist made him feel safe in a way he hadn’t in probably a decade. he let himself go again, freely ugly crying into his expensive and soft christmas sweater, clinging onto the material with weak, shaky fists.

“i didn’t know.” steve finally spoke after a minute. “shit, man, no one knows anything about you. i figured your dad was a hard ass after we talked about the fight but not that bad.” he pulled back just an inch, catching billy’s eyes with his own. “does anyone else know?”

billy shook his head.

“why don’t you tell hopper?” steve frowned. “that’s not normal or okay.”

“no point.” billy shook his head. “i turned 18 in november. can’t do jack shit now but wait until i graduate.”

“then move out.” steve said it like it was easy. like he could afford it, like he had anywhere to go.

billy laughed but it was more sad than humored.

“and where would i go?”

“with me.” steve’s response was immediate, no hesitation. “my dad’s always gone on business trips and my mom’s italian.” he said it like it was self explanatory. billy’s confused expression prompted him to continue. “she can’t stand bad parents and she loves company. you’re another mouth to force feed, too. she makes great pasta.”

billy shook his head. “i can’t just move in with you. what if they say no or-or it doesn’t work.”

“they won’t say no.” steve assured. “come on.” he urged. “it’s just one more semester and then we’re off to the golden coast.” he smiled dumbly. “it’ll work. trust me.”

billy went silent. thought about it for a minute. what it could be like to get out of that house. live and be friends with steve. go back home with him later on.

billy slowly nodded. “okay.” he mumbled. “okay.” he repeated again, louder and solidified.

they’d make it work.

[namjoonswifey99]

What The Heart Wants Pt.4

Billy Hargrove X Reader

Warnings : Steamy , Profanity ,

Author Notes : It's a little steamy in the beginning and while reading you should listen to Feenin’ By Jodeci and Make It Last Forever By Keith Sweat if you want.

Y/N couldn't believe what was happening right now here. She is kissing her best friend who she’s in love with. 

Meanwhile Billy was in heaven and he been fantasizing about kissing Y/N and being with her. Ever since he came to Hawkins she was the only one who didn't run from him and didn't try to use him. She helped nursing him back together after the mindflayer incident. He’s been extremely hurt knocking at death's door and he pulled through even the doctors wasn't expecting him to survive

When Billy woke up he noticed Y/N and her family was there and Max was there she was curled up to Y/N side on the layout couch from that moment he knew he was in love with her.

Both of them were so lost in the moment that they didn't notice Max was on  Billy’s side of the car grinning at them. Max knew the pair had feelings for each other; she just was waiting on them to make it official.

Max then knocks on his window making the pair jump apart. Billy looked to the side seeing Max and rolled his eyes. Y/N turned around to hide her face. She was so embarrassed right now. 

“ You don't have to turn away Y/N. I've known you loved Billy. It was only a matter of time.” Max says while getting in the backseat. It has always been a program they wait a block away from fom Max’s school then they'll head to grab half of the crew while Hopper brings the rest. 

“ Max hussssssssh” Y/N says even more embarrassed. Y/N was trying to put more space between her and Billy but Billy grabbed her thigh and looked at her.

“ It's okay Y/N if anything I'm happy for you two  you finally told each other your feelings for each other.” Max says with so much excitement she has been waiting for them to be together. She loves Y/N so much like a fun older sister or another mom figure she couldn't imagine her life without Y/N.

“ MAX” Both Y/N and Billy yelled out in surprise they weren't expecting her to say that.

“ Wait you love me since when” Billy asked Y/N with wide eyes.

“ Um i kind of been in love with you since i came to your house and seen what your dad did was doing to you ever since then” Y/N said looking down at her hands shyly. 

Billy looked at her shocked that it was almost two years ago. Billy was honestly stuck; he was really blessed with an angel named Y/N.

“ What about you when did you realized you love me”. Y/N said now looking at Billy.

“ Well late last year when you took me and Max in and i fell deeper when you was by my side with the mindflayer I’m so glad I got another chance so I can live with the rest of my life with you whichever way you’ll have me” Billy said looking at Y/N while hold her hands.

Y/N can see how he really feels since they are facing each other and all she see is love. 

“ Well Billy Hargrove you just got yourself a girlfriend.” Y/N says while smiling from ear to ear.

“ No I don’t got me a girlfriend i got me a wife”. Billy says while just admiring how beautiful Y/N is.

“ Okay lovebirds can you guys try not to eat each other's faces in front of me please”. Max says groaning in the backseat.

Billy and Y/N looked at each other and laughed. They decided to cut her some slack.  Billy then started the car to head towards the Byers house to go get Will. 

“ Soooooooo how are things with you and Lucas”. Y/N said in a teasing voice she wasn't the only one who was in a relationship now. 

“ Well our winter formal is coming up so I'm hoping he’s going to ask me and not assume just because we are in a relationship he doesn't have to ask”. Max says with hope in her voice.

“ I believe he’s gonna ask you he’s probably just nervous , you know guys they are a little slow”.

“ Hey i take offence to that statement” Billy said feigning heartbreak.

“ Oh hush don't be a big baby” Y/N said pinching Billy cheeks.

“ Y/N stopppp”. Billy says whining trying to remove his cheek from her grasp.

“ You guys are so cute it's disgusting and cute at the same time”. Max says genuinely happy for Billy.

After 30 minutes Billy pulls up to the Byers house. Y/N then gets out the car to walk up to the door and rings the doorbell. Jonathan then comes to the door with his camera in his hand. “ Hey Y/N looking for Will ''. Jonathan asks.

“ Yea is he ready to go”. Y/N said feeling awkward especially after what happened at school and what she said.

“ Hey Jonathan I want to apologize for what I blurted out about you.” Y/N said looking sad. Y/N is not the type to hurt other people's feelings.

“ Hey its okay Y/N I know you didn’t mean to say that its no hard feelings.” Jonathan says putting his hand on Y/N shoulder.

“ Y/NNNNNNNNNNN  I missed you!” Will says running towards her and almost knocking her off her feet with a hug.

“ I missed you too” Y/N says while wrapping her arms around him.

Even though the kids love Steve they prefer Y/N. She just understands them more; she helps out more; she is basically the real mother hen of the group. Anytime the kids need help or in trouble she comes to the rescue. Plus her cooking is amazing. Will definitely grew attached yo Y/N after his incident she cared for him like no other she took up for him when other kids bullied him she took the time t fully understand what happened she helped Jonathan and Joyce nurse him back to health Y/N was like the best big sister he always wanted.

“ Come on Billy waiting on us” Y/N says, grabbing Will’s hand and walking back to the car.

Billy just couldn't he got the girl of his dreams even after all the bullshit he went through he’s glad Y/N stayed by his side he’s going to treasure Y/N to his last breath.

Please leave feedback i would appreciate it.

Taglist:

@justfangirlthingies

@miss-starkov

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

The Perfect Bad Boy (Pt. 15 of 18)

Pairing: Billy Hargrove X Reader

Word count: 3 K

Summary: Working as a lifeguard in the Hawkins Community Pool, you try to fit in after moving from New York. Things were going pretty well when you notice you've been under someone's stare. Billy Hargrove, Hawkins' bad boy, has been staring at you since day one. You never intended to have anything to do with him, judging by the reputation he has. But Billy won't leave you alone, determined to show you his feelings are different this time...

As if your heart flooding you with confusing feelings wasn't enough, there are weird, strange animals lurking in the woods... But those have to be just part of the wild live of the woods surrounding Hawkins... Right?

<- Previous part (14)

Next part (16) ->

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

×

Missing

There are seven holes. Seven. But they aren't seven different nests, they're tunnels, with seven openings to the surface of the Earth. You only know that because Eleven spent the whole night focused on finding them, seated in the living room of Joyce's place, a piece of fabric covering her eyes. The map from before remained on the floor beside her, and she reached out to draw where the tunnels reach. You barely had any sleep, just the pair of hours you slept with your head on Billy's shoulder, seated on the couch, but someone's voice woke you up.

Relief fills your heart when the morning comes. During the night, you could only think about those things lurking around. After a quick shower, and using one of Eleven's shirt, you go to the kitchen and decide to have breakfast there, where you can be alone. Eating a bowl of cereal, you run a hand through your hair, trying to understand how are you going back to the pool today and act like none of this is happening.

“Hey, princess,” Billy says, coming into the kitchen. Hair is still wet and wearing only his jacket. “Are you ok?”

“I'm trying to be.” Pushing the bowl away, you watch as he makes himself the same meal you had. “Wondering how am I going to work today.”

“Wanna stay here? I can tell Anthony that you're sick. If he even shows up.”

“No. It'll be worse if I stay.” You're confused, not sure what's the best or what's worse. But at least in the pool you'll have something normal going on.

“Hey, you two,” Joyce says as she comes in. Her voice gets your attention, and when you look at her after exchanging a glance with Billy, you see that Hopper is right behind her, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed together. “How are you two doing?”

“Uhm... Good.” It sounds like a question. Joyce sits at the table, with Hopper standing behind her. He has the chief face on, and you have no idea why. “Everything alright? Are we in trouble or something?” Gesturing at you and Billy, and cross your legs, an eye on the clock because you'll still need to stop by home to get the swimsuit.

“No, of course not. It's just that the kids were talking about something and–”

“Are you two living together?" Hopper speaks up, swallowing Joyce's words. She gives him a hard stare, and there's some kind of conversation going on through facial expressions that you can't understand.

“Yes.” You answer, not sure why you're in this situation in the first place. You feel like you're having the talk with Diane all over again. Diane. You have to call her, just to make sure everything is alright. “Why?”

“There were some rumors running around that–”

“That Billy Hargrove got some chick pregnant.” Hopper again. But this time Joyce slaps his arm.

“We agreed you'd let me do this.” She whispers.

“Then just get to the damn point.” He snaps back.

With wide eyes, you look at Billy. He doesn't seem bothered by this, peacefully eating his cereal. There's a smile on his lips that he tries to hold back, but you know him far too well now. You can see it. He's having fun.

“Look, guys, Uhm... These rumors started after I fainted on the pool, but it was from heat exhaustion, so...” Deciding to just end whatever this is, you speak up, kicking Billy's leg and whispering to him. “Say something.”

“(Y/N), honey, do your parents know about that?”

This makes you laugh, but then you remember Joyce doesn't know about your relationship, or better saying, the lack of it. “No, and I don't plan on doing that. But my aunt Diane does.”

“And she allowed it?” Hopper takes his time pronouncing every word as if this is absurd. “You're lucky you're not my daughter.”

“Hopper, just...” Joyce mumbles, her voice fading. “We just wanted to make sure you guys are... You know... Going somewhere with this. Living together is something really big and important to do.”

“I'll only say two things.” Billy finally makes his presence known, getting up and throwing his bowl in the sink. “First of all, I'm planning on marrying (Y/N). Second, we better go now or we'll be late. Again.”

There's a weird buzz in your ears as Billy takes your hand and starts pulling you with him. Joyce and Hopper have wide eyes, mouth half-open, in shock. You're not that different, and all your body is able to do is keep following Billy outside and to his car. You're silently looking through the window as he drives, but you're doing that on purpose, just to get back at him for saying that out of the blue.

“Aren't you gonna say anything?” He asks parking in front of the house.

“Absolutely not.” Stepping out of the car, you don't wait for him, heading inside. “If you really wanna do what you said, I'll patiently wait until you propose, Hargrove.” Turning around just enough to wink at him, you bite back a smile.

You're quick to get ready and manage not to be late. The song is blasting when Billy pulls over on his parking spot, and the moment the song is gone, you hear the chattering, noticing three police cars.

Your heart skips a beat when you leave the car, taking a deep breath. “Hey,” Billy calls, taking your hand. “Let's check what happened before jumping to conclusions, ok?”

“Ok.” Holding his arm, you move to the entrance, where a small crowd gathers. Hopper is here, and by the messy way of his clothes, he had to run over here. He immediately notices you and Billy, a sad look on his face. And that's when you see Monica, running a hand through her hair, tears glistening on her cheeks.

“Mon?” Calling, you let go of Billy and runs to her. Monica breaks a little bit when she sees you, and you're quick to hug her. “Mon, what happened?”

“It's Jason. My cousin is missing, (Y/N).” She cries on your shoulder, and you close your eyes tight because the first thing that comes to your head is probably what got him. The Demodogs. “He went out yesterday to buy dinner a-and his mom called mine saying he was taking long and...” You pull away, holding her hands. “...that was early evening yesterday. And he's still missing. The family spent the whole night looking for him and–”

“Mon, I'm sure we'll find him.” It's hard to lie. It's even harder not to break down in front of her. “Maybe he felt bad and fainted or something like that. We'll find him.”

“I hope so.”

“I'll drive you home, ok? Billy can keep the pools safe for one day.”

When she nods, drying off some tears, you make your way over him, who's talking to Hopper. He probably already knows, but you try to keep a straight face.

“Come here, princess.” He opens his arms and you don't even hesitate, hugging him tightly. “I'm so sorry. But we'll find him. The party is already aware of everything.” Whispering on my ear, Billy places a kiss on the top of your hair.

“I...” Getting rid of the single tear that escaped your efforts to hold it back, you pull away. “I'll take her home, she's very shaken. Can you just keep an eye–”

“Keep an eye on the kids, of course.” He bends over to kiss you, and your arms, almost automatically, move to be around his neck. “I'll pick you up after work, ok? I love you.”

“I love you.” It still makes you blush to hear those words, but you absolutely love to say it back. After one last kiss, you part ways.

Monica talks as you drive to her place, sharing memories with her cousin. Some of them you already know, but you don't stop her, laughing and making silly comments, trying to keep her mind away from the fact that Jason is missing.

Your mind also starts remembering. Obviously, you didn't have all the time around Jason that Monica had, but he was one of the first people you met when you got here. He's always smiling, carrying his siblings around, always complaining, but always happy to be with them. Jason is funny, even when he's the only one who actually gets his jokes.

Jason is missing.

Demidogs need a lot of food. An almost 6 feet tall male human has a lot of meat.

Shaking your head lightly, you push these thoughts away. No breaking down now. Monica needs you strong, to keep her strong too. Her family is either at Jason's or still looking, so you're alone. Both of you stay seated on her bed, and you give her your shoulder when she starts crying again. He's gone for one night and she's already losing it... If anything bad happens...

Her parents return home a couple of hours later, thankful to you for taking her back home. You drag her into the living room, turning the TV on this random movie and trying to convince her to pay some attention. You can hear her parents in the kitchen, making lunch, but you also hear when her mother cries, the low, cracking voice as she talks to her husband. It's getting hard by the minute to stay here, pretending you don't know what probably happened, but if you cry, if you start doubting Jason is ok, Monica will break apart.

A knock on the door, an unusually loud and frenetic knock, gets your attention. Looking over your shoulder, you see as Monica's father goes to answer it.

“Hi. Is (Y/N) here?” You hear a feminine voice, and you soon recognize it's Nancy.

Excusing yourself, you get up. “Yes, she's–”

“Hey.” You go to the front door, seeing Nancy and two cars in the sidewalk, many eyes looking at you. “Something wrong?”

“Sorry, but we need you. Uhm... Maxine is sick. We need to have a doctor check on her.”

“What?” You exclaim, running a hand through your hair. “Mon.” Calling her, you quickly make your way back to the living room. “I'm so sorry, but Maxine is feeling ill, I have to go. But I promise I'll call you later, ok?”

“Sure. Go help.” She says, nodding and clearing her throat since her voice is all clouded by her crying.

“Stay calm, honey. Jason is alright, I'm sure.” Another lie. You shouldn't make promises you don't know if you can keep. Giving her a quick hug, you run outside, muttering a goodbye to Mon's father as Nancy does the same.

“We'll go looking for him.” She says in a low voice as you move toward the cars. “We don't stand still when shit happens.”

Her choice of words makes you raise your eyebrows. You never heard her saying anything like that. “Thanks.” Muttering, you seat shotgun in Steve's car as she goes to Jonathan's. There are four kids on the back seat, fighting for some more space. You're happy to see Max is alright. For a moment, you thought she was really sick.

You park in the woods, and there are already some people here. Everyone but Hopper, because he has to be in the official search party, and Billy. God, you wish Billy was here.

“Alright, let's do this,” Mike says, and he freely starts separating you in groups. “Eleven and Will with me. Lucas, Jonathan, and Robin. Uhm... Max, Steve, and (Y/N). Joyce–”

“Why are you messing up the groups, man. I wanna go with Max.” Lucas complains and Mike rolls his eyes. “Groups of four, as usual.”

“Since when?”

“Alright, just gather in groups, c'mon, guys,” Joyce says, eyeing both her kids until they go to stand by her side, alongside Nancy.

You move to stand with Max and Lucas, and after playing rock, paper, scissors with Robin, Steve comes to your group. You raise your eyebrows at him, trying to get why they had to use that method to choose a group. “Nobody wants to be with these two lovebirds.” He says when he's close enough.

“That's something I can understand.” There's no doubt Max and Lucas are into each other, but they're constantly fighting. It's funny to watch, actually.

“Let's get started then, guys. Be careful, pay attention to the radios, and let's find Jason.” Joyce announces, taking over Hopper's role in this.

And everyone starts moving, each group in a different direction. You're going to the holes first, just to check, and then you'll cover a specific area. Max and Lucas are once again responsible for the map and walk a couple of feet ahead.

“Hey. Take this.” Steve gets your attention, taking the bat from his backpack and handing it over to you. “I know Jason was a close friend of yours. Sorry this happened.”

“Yeah.” You lay the bat over your shoulder, careful not to entangle your hair in the nails. “I really thought it couldn't get any worse but life proved me wrong.”

“I remember when Will went missing. I was a total jerk back then so I didn't really care.” You glance over to Steve, and he has an apologetic look on his face. “They found the body and there was a funeral. But the body was fake and Will was fine in the end.”

“Someone should make a movie out of that story.” You mumble, taking a deep breath. “Do you think Jason could be in the... Upside Down?”

“No. According to Eleven, no portals were open. The Demodogs just made these woods into their new home and are doing what it takes to survive.” Through the corner of your eyes, you see when he almost slips, opening his arms slightly to regain balance. “Don't laugh.” He says, but you're already chuckling. “Anyway, wherever he is, he's here.”

“Why don't we tell Eleven to just use her powers and find him. Wouldn't it be easier?”

“These woods are huge. And we usually just do that when it's the last resource.” Lucas answers.

“We don't like pushing her. It always brings back sad memories.”

That's something you can understand perfectly. “We do it the old way then.” You've seen how complicated it is. Eleven's nose wouldn't stop bleeding while she was figuring out the tunnels, and after while blood came out of her ears too. As much as you want to find Jason, you'd never ask her or the party to do something just so you'd feel better. They're in it far longer than you, so you trust them to make the decisions and set the pace. “I just hope he's alright. He's Monica's cousin, and she's worried to death.”

“Yeah, I get that.” It doesn't go unnoticed how Steve doesn't make false promises as you did with Monica. He doesn't say he's ok, that you'll find him. Running a hand through your hair, you take a deep breath, confused between having hopes or just expecting the worse. “So, changing the subject.” He speaks again. “You and Hargrove. I never thought Billy would actually fall in love.”

A smile comes to your lips, and you're thankful for having something else to think about. “Yeah. It took a while for me to believe that but he... He worked hard.” Involuntary, your hand goes for the necklace, fingers playing with the earring.

“Joyce and Hopper were saying something about marriage...” It sounds like a question, and you give Steve a glance, giggling. “They were trying not to let anyone hear them but Hopper doesn't really know how to whisper.”

By the heat spreading through your cheeks, you know you're blushing. Could it be real? Would Billy marry you? Is he really considering such a thing? “We spoke about it, Uhm... Twice, I think. But not a real conversation, he just spilled it out.”

“Holy shit, he's going serious with you then.” He playfully elbows your arm. By what you've seen and by what Max told you, Steve usually grows protective of everyone since he joined the party, and you think it's cute. He's like everyone's babysitter. “Send me an invitation, would you?”

“I will.”

“You–”

Maxine's yell cuts him short, getting your attention as you notice you have fallen behind. Immediately, you and Steve start running towards then.

“Man, that's...” Lucas says as Max hugs him, eyes tightly shut.

You're about to ask them what the hell happened when you follow Lucas' scared stare.

It's a weird sensation when you're brain refuses to take in the information. When your eyes, focused on something, are blind. And your ears are deaf and the wind blowing doesn't touch your skin. It's like you're not there.

Jason's body is stuck between a big rock and a dead tree. His torso is opened up, and there's nothing inside.

As there's nothing inside Jason anymore. He's empty. Body and soul. There will be no laughter leaving his lips, no more jokes, no more arms to carry his baby siblings around. Nothing. Just flesh and bones, both ripped apart.

“(Y/N).” You're sure it's not the first time you hear someone calling your name, but you're not even sure where it comes from.

You only move when an arm pulls you, and you feel it around you. “We have to go. C'mon.” Steve says, and, far and distant, you hear static, and voices, coming from the radio. “(Y/N).”

“I need Billy.” It's the only thing that comes to your head, and you find a way to force the words out of your throat.

“Alright, let's go,” Steve says, and you're only set on motion because of his arm around your shoulders.

Everything is a blur. You notice people moving around, and some of them come to hug you as they start regrouping near the cars. Nodding and thanking their kind words, you remain silent, arms crossed, the image still burning in your brain.

Jason's rib cage broken open, the blood staining his clothes and the ground around him. His head twisted in an awkward way, neck probably disconnected from the body.

“Let's get moving. She wants to talk to Billy.”

“The pool will close in an hour. Take her home.”

“No, she's scaring me. We need to take her to Billy.” Max intervenes, and Steve pulls you to his car. You let Max seat shotgun, feeling better in the backseat where you can curl into a ball, knees pressed against your chest as the landscape passes by.

It reminds you the first time you saw that thing. You were trying to beat Billy, driving back to your place. Maybe, if you had gone to the police station the next day, let them know something was out there, you could've avoided this. But who would believe you? You didn't believe it either. What are you going to tell Monica? After saying things would be ok, that they would find Jason alive and well when you knew being out in the woods all night long probably meant he'd become Demodog's meal.

You knew it, yet you lied. Vain hope is the worst kind of hope, and that's what you gave her.

“(Y/N).” Steve gets your attention, touching your shoulder. “We're at the pool.”

Blinking a few times to wake up from the stupor, you bolt out of the car, making your way to the entrance. It's crowded today, but you don't see faces, you just see obstacles.

It finally starts kicking in.

You went to find Jason, and you did. But instead of the dear friend you so easily grew to love, you found a dead, empty corpse. The tears threat to overflow as you rudely bump into people, making your way through the pool. At a distance, you see the moment Billy finally notices the commotion, his eyes quick to find you. By the way his face changes, the way he takes off his sunglasses and jumps to the ground, shoving people out of his way, you must be looking terrible.

But you don't care. Billy is everything you need, the only thing you see and you know you can break down in his arms. You just need to reach him, and when you do, you collapse against his chest, not able to hold back the tears anymore, the sobs building up your throat as you hold onto him.

“I'm so sorry,” Billy mumbles in your ear. He knows. How could he not?

You suddenly feel him lifting you up, and you hide your teary face on the crook of his neck. Seconds later you're at the locker room, and Billy screams for the other girls to get out as he puts you down, seated on one of the benches.

“I'm so sorry, (Y/N).” He repeats, kneeled before you, thumbs coming to dry off some tears, just to make space for more.

“I saw him. H-he was all eaten, Billy. His body was-his body was wide open and everything was gone–”

“Stop, stop.” He begs, pulling you into a hug. “You don't have to tell me, not now.” Nodding, you take in his scent, feeling safe, secure, despite the terror creeping under your skin. “I'll take you home, ok?”

“No.” You mutter, pulling away just enough so you're foreheads are touching. You don't know what comes to you, but this has to be said. This feeling has to be let out. Not after, not tomorrow. Now. Maybe it's the fact that you saw death for the very first time. You just need to let him know “You're my home.”

×

@chloe-skywalker @dpaccione @dreamin-of-dacre @funeral-7 @uncookspaget @youhavemyfantasticbeasts @halloweenbitch2764 @redlovett @multific @shinydixon @nikkixostan @clockworkballerina @nope-thanks

[granills]

Careless Whisper {B.H.}

Hey loves, I haven’t written in a loooong time, It seems I just needed a new crush to get back to writing. I missed this feeling so much. So, Billy Hargrove, that’s it. I haven’t finished the 3rd season yet and I felt like writing about this pretty boy. In my story Billy has graduated from school by the time he arrives to Hawkins, and Bob is alive. I posted the first chapter on my wattpad too, nigarrmtvseries.

1. Mars and Other Planets

It didn't take long for summer to show itself after the first hot day in June.

Mars looked out of the window only to find some people loudly talking to each other and hurrying to get back to their homes where they were awaited. A man standing near the curb didn't care much about the heating sun, he was focused on the road. Waiting.

"So hot.. Right when I was thinking about going for a jog." A young woman approached the desk Mars was sitting behind. Mars had gotten carried away with her thoughts, but seeing the woman, smiled to her and started helping her to pack the things she'd picked. Refrigerator magnets, soaps, milk.

"It's officially summer I would say." Mars was working alone today in the store. Joyce asked for a day out to spend more time with her kids and Bob, and Donald only visited from time to time so Melvald's General Store had only one company - Maristela. It was a good day, mostly because of the sun. It calmed her and it also predicted that less people would come to the store, it only made her work easier. Not like the first time.

Joyce Byers was the one who persuaded Donald Melvald to employ a girl in Hawkins, Maristela Crawford who was looking for a summer job. At first Donald disagreed arguing that the girl would leave as soon as summer ends and they would have to look for a replacement. At least that's how Maristela's plan was going until that one day when she received a letter. She knew the letter wouldn't tell her good news and it made it much harder for her.

"We regret to inform you that after reviewing your application..." That's how the letter started and it was bad, she knew it. "...we appreciate that you are interested in our university. Please do apply again next year." Shit. To get out of this shithole by getting accepted into the university in California - that was the plan. As much as she hated to admit it, it seemed the summer job was gonna turn into a permanent job, but to say that she didn't like her job, would be unfair towards her and others. She loved Joyce as her own mother and though the work was tiresome, it was essential one.

It was nearly the end of the day, she was ready to turn the lights off and close the store as soon as possible in order to get home. That's how simple it was, only she didn't know what was about to happen.

She clearly remembered how the last client left as the door behind him closed muffling the sound of the happy kids outside. But it only lasted a few seconds when the glass front door shut loudly accompanying by the voice of two strangers.

"I told you to fucking wait in the car!" The sound was so loud that Mars nearly hit her head while picking up her bag under the desk.

"Mom said I can choose myself!" A girl's voice replied as they headed towards the center aisle. Mars wanted to see who was talking but they only got more distant and she couldn't leave her desk.

The first voice mumbled something in reply. His voice was low, a bit vibrating. If Mars leaned over further the desk, she could've just fallen over it. As much as she tried to see the strangers, she gave up eventually and returned to her seat. All of a sudden she heard the voices were coming closer and looked up. The stranger was standing there comfortably looking at the lights, his appearance was screaming danger. That was only it, danger, but what she didn't know was that something was about to happen that wouldn't have ended good.

The next thing she knew the loud tap of black boots echoed in the store as he approached the desk Mars was sitting behind. Looking at him, he looked just like many of his peers: jeans, a denim jacket, a brown bag, for some reason making her doubt that he carries around his textbooks or homework, a digital watch on his right hand.

He was tall, probably 7 inches taller than her. Heels under his boots helped him look even taller as he walked towards her. His unruly blonde hair perfectly framed his face, the soft curls fell in cinnamon swirls to his face slightly reaching his shoulders. It wasn't long though, part of his hair in front nearly reached his brows in soft messy waves. But still it managed to look completely natural as if he'd woken up like this.

The tops of his jeans held fast by a black leather belt. A pair of rings on his left hand didn't stay unnoticed, as well as a pack of Marlboro cigarettes stuffed into the left pocket of his jacket.

She couldn't see his eyes because of his black sunglasses, it added more confidence to his appearance which was apparently what he'd aimed for. She was scared of him, he just looked like the sort of person who would have asked you for a date and didn't show up. Heartbreaker.

She noticed his silver hoop earring when he stood in front of the desk, his eyes under sunglasses met hers and focused on her for a brief moment before he put a pair of batteries, six pack of beer on the counter. The other stranger whom Mars noticed later appeared to be a school girl with ginger hair, she put the sweets next to other things.

Then, in a second, the tension in the store broke when he finally spoke to her.

"That will be all." He uttered and she was surprised how deep his voice was. If earlier she'd assumed he could be her age, now it seemed she could be pretty wrong. She couldn't recognise the accent, and they could, moreover, be new in this small town. What really puzzled her was the obvious tension between the redhead girl and the guy. Siblings maybe, but they don't look alike.

Mars put down her bag and only nodded before starting to bag their items.

"That will be eleven-twenty one." Mars said, her voice slightly trembling. She didn't notice how he looked at her while putting money on the counter between them. She took it and opened the cash register beside her, the one that Joyce had opened many times, and started counting money to return the change.

The stranger looked at her, corners of his lips turned up, a glint in his eyes. "Keep the change." He said before taking the bag and going to the exit. The redhead girl annoyingly rolled her eyes and went after him.

Mars followed them with her gaze, she noticed how the stranger got in his '79 blue Camaro and lit his cigarette, the smoke dragged into the air and disappeared as he started the car moving over the highway, lights on full beam. And a dangerous driver too.

It was time for Mars to close the store already, but first she wanted to clean up so that Joyce wouldn't get tired the next day. And it's not like she was keen on getting back home, every day seemed the same. She only had her friend and neighbour, Nancy Wheeler, and Rose Jagger, her friend from childhood. They tried to meet often as long as the work allowed, which meant only on weekends, but even then Mars would sometimes work long hours on weekend to make ends meet.

It was a boring job. Especially for a girl who just graduated from school. Most of her peers started working as interns, but that wasn't for her. She thought she'd be better if she continued her studies at the university, away from this town. But dreams don't get along with plans always. In order to get into the university, she needed money, that she understood now.

The list of her tasks wasn't that long. With Joyce's help she managed to do everything: to assist customers, manage the shelves, keep the store clean, operate cash register, take inventory, stock, restock and all the other things that were shifted to their shoulders.

She quickly checked the shelves, making sure products were where they were meant to be, moving them in their original place, as kids would often mess things up. After being done with the floor and the counter, she looked around the clean store and finally sighed in relief. She went back to the counter and started packing her things into her bag, already anticipating how Joyce would be happy to see the work she's done here. For Mars, Joyce was such a sweetheart and she would do anything for her, just like for her mother.

Mars opened the drawer to take the keys, when suddenly the soft sound of steps at the entrance made her look up from her seat.

She looked up, and her breath seemed to stutter in her lungs before she let it go.

The blonde guy with the denim jacket stood in front of the entrance and made a step forward. He stood in front of her, comfortably as if he was at his own house. He had no longer his black sunglasses making it easier for her to focus on his icy blue eyes. And he was alone this time. She couldn't chase away the same thoughts that had gone through her mind earlier. Heartbreaker. Also new thoughts replaced previous ones, she couldn't tell what it was, if his eyes hinted about it, as if he carried all the pain in the world, his blue eyes told about a lifetime of struggle that could never been put into words. He looked like the person who would rather hurt than being hurt.

"I'll have a pack of Marlboro Reds," he simply said. "Please."

Mars raised her eyebrows in surprise. She clearly remembered how one pack of them was hanging in his breast pocket when he'd walked in earlier. Moreover, she just wiped the floors clean and he made it dirty again by walking over it with his boots. The store was closed.

Or it wasn't. Mars regretted not putting the "closed" sign after cleaning the store and got mad even more.

"Can I see your license?" She simply asked, just in the same tone he talked to her.

The blonde stranger only chuckled clearly loving the situation. He reached to his back pocket and took out the license. He held it between his two fingers showing Mars as she leaned over to check his age only to find out that he was the same age as her. William Hargrove.

Mars moved her eyes towards his face and then turned around to open the drawer with cigarettes. She searched the packs behind her longer, not wanting to meet his eyes again, that much he intimidated her.

She then turned back and put the right pack in front of him. He gave her an unreadable glance leaning a bit into the counter. "Can I hear your name? Since you know mine."

She had to meet his baby blues again after his question. He put the money on the counter and took one cigarette out of the pack. Not wasting time, he lighted the cigarette and slowly brought it to his lips, his eyes never leaving hers.

"It's Maristela."

"What are you now a goddess or something?" He chuckled.

The name was unique, she agreed. "A star, to be precise. It means "Star of the Sea"."

"Hm." He smoked and Mars just kept staring at him, only seconds later she realised that he was literally smoking in the store and she'd allowed it by not saying anything. It was against the rules.

"No smo-," she recoiled as though she'd woken up from a bad dream when he cut her off, not letting her finish.

"Mars it is then," he said quietly before turning around and heading to the exit.

]]

I hope you like the first chapter, please let me know what you think. MMmuah

2. Ice Creams, Dreams